Send in the Clouds

Don't you love farce?
My fault, I fear
I thought that you'd want what I want
Sorry, my dear!
But where are the clouds
Send in the clouds
Don't bother, they're here

---Written by Stephen Sondheim, sung by Judy Collins, with apologies

Well we had some amazing clouds the last couple of days.  As the sun set yesterday evening, several really cool ones appeared.  One giant billowy one rose up over the nearby ridge, looking like a nuclear bomb mushroom cloud.  Fortunately it wasn't, as it quickly dissipated. 

As the sun set, it illuminated the dumpling-like puffs descending from the heavy overcast.

 

Last night we had one hell of a thunderstorm, which seems pretty bizarre for Nevada, especially this corner of the state which supposedly gets less than 4" a year.  As the storm passed this morning we were rewarded by some incredible cloud displays.  To the west a rainbow appeared over the distant mountains as the sun rose.  The dark rain clouds made an impressive backdrop to the colored arc. 

To the north, another bright cloud built as the sun rose.

As we climbed the first summit this morning, the storms were still depositing their moisture on the parched desert landscape and a huge anvil cloud opened up ahead of us. 

 

Then this evening as we finished up dinner, another rainbow appeared to the east as the storm spent its fury and curled up at our feet, waiting for another day to awake.

 

 

As you can see, the clouds, rain squalls, rainbows, and sunlight have combined to augment the wonderful scenery we've been cycling through for the last week.