As the driving rain made its way past Bismarck-Mandan on Saturday morning I was hatching a plan to follow behind it.  I had to head to north central North Dakota anyway to pick up some kids from a church camp, so what better way to spend a Saturday morning than depart very early and work in a bunch of camera time along the way?

I’ve stopped at this particular spot along Highway 3 many times, but never had a really dramatic sky to work with.  That was not the case on Saturday.  There were crazy clouds moving in all directions at around 400 feet or so (if my eyes deceive me not) and the deep blue of the departing storms was a wonderful offset.

Not only did my plan work: I got plenty of photos in various locations with the dramatic skies in the background, but I also found a lot of new locations and took photos there, and I was able to mark a bunch of potential future spots for the next time I head northeast.  Trifecta.

My cameras and I were busy over the last few days, though.  More on that later.