A Camas Dawn

I still can't believe I did it, but last Saturday I hauled my (immediately regretful) self out of bed at 3:45am (yeah, you read that right) so I could make the two-hour drive to Camas Prairie Centennial Marsh and be there by dawn to take some photos.

It's a beautiful, peaceful place, in spite of the raucous chorus of a million and one birds. Even better, I was the only human hopping around in the pre-dawn almost freezing temperatures, clicking the shutter and keeping my fingers crossed that I had at least something in focus and that my fingers weren't going to drop off from frostbite.

Here's a selection of the results, pretty much in the order I took them, which I hope speak for themselves.













This is the Camas Lily - traditional food source for Native Americans, and once owner of the whole valley. It's pretty much limited to several hundred acres now - at least in any great numbers.

I call this one The Cow of Camas Prairie. I do believe she was shaking her head at me.