Touring - Best view you've had in the morning.

You know that feeling when you've found just the right spot to camp for the night, and you crawl out bleary eyed stupidly early in the morning... to be greeted by something absolutely soul stirring. One of those moments when you really think 'this is why I do this'.

I'll start, this was on Manitoulin Island in Ontario.
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Opening the tent and seeing this was.. memorable..
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and then here is where I spent the next night, closed the hatch and tried to hide from mosquitoes.. did not work.. not even slightly..
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I'll have to take a photo of a steaming hot cup of black coffee ... that's usually my best view in the morning ...


Oh wait ... I've got one ...

We arrived at the campground on Lake Shikotsu, Hokkaido, Japan really late. In the morning we got up to have a look around and see what we could find for breakfast. What we found was a vending machine with drinks (no food), but was surprised us was that the vending machine produced hot black coffee in a can ...

This was a welcome sight!! :D
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8168/7545226940_34b626a9bf.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/machka-bb/sets/72157630063348587/)


And the view from the tent was pretty good too.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8434/7534954866_90679623a1_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/machka-bb/sets/72157630063348587/)

Interesting thread idea.

On my recent trip my favorite morning had to be on the first morning out on the last leg of the trip. I was west of Columbus, Ohio. I had found a nice potential campsite using Google Earth before I ever left my mothers house. It had all the key ingredients I was looking for in a nice stealth campsite. I decided to give it a go and while riding along US 40 in the evening I passed the entrance somewhere and ended up turning down a side road and found the bike path crossing. I turned down the bike path and it took me to where I was looking to go anyways. Fortunately I got there after sunset but when I woke up in the morning I was surprised to learn about the area. Given the fact of a creek being nearby I was surprised that I wasn't bothered by mosquitoes while sitting up the tent in the evening or tearing down in the morning. Being, like most of my campsite were during the trip, right off the highway...within ear shot of the highway traffic I was surprised how little highway noise their was, evening or morning being I was less than one hour ride time from downtown Colmbus.

Probably the Hazzards on Freycinet Peninsula in Tasmania, from the Swansea Caravan Park.

Closely followed by a small bay on Bruny Island about two metres away with mountains from the Hartz Range in the background.

Not taken while crawling out "bleary eyed stupidly early in the morning", since I had most likely been on the road for an hour by then. I was riding west, but stopped to look back where I came from that morning to see this view:
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It was one of many mornings like that. I love hitting the road in the dark and watching the sun rise while on the road.

Judging by the pictures posted on this thread so far people have a different idea of "stupidly early" since it looks like full daylight in their pictures.

Edit here is another one taken from the "Marfa Mystery Light Viewing Station" in Texas:
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Judging by the pictures posted on this thread so far people have a different idea of "stupidly early" since it looks like full daylight in their pictures.

Anything before about 8 am is not acceptable ... even that's touch and go. :)

http://inlinethumb58.webshots.com/47865/2910784590046505395S600x600Q85.jpg (http://sports.webshots.com/photo/2910784590046505395DQfgmC)
Camping along the Dolores River, near Gateway, Colorado.

morning light is great. something about the softness and low angle

Anything before about 8 am is not acceptable ... even that's touch and go. :)

Everyone is different. For me 8 AM is really sleeping in, even in the short days of winter. I do fairly often knock off for the day by 1 or 2 PM to make up for it though.

I rise before the sun, too. I see a lot of sunrises. My favorite mornings are usually in the mountains. One morning I crested a pass in the Cascades right at dawn and got treated to a rainbow in the mist rising from the road. Another misty morning I was cycling through a National Wildlife Reserve in MN and the birds were just waking up. I don't like to miss those moments by sleeping late.

I don't usually camp (motels and couches, mostly), but on a ride from Charleston to Lambertville, NJ (journal here (http://www.biketouringtips.com/showDailyEntryDetail.php?entryID=159)) I camped near the ferry port at a campground where I was the only one in the tent section. It was right on the water and the sun's angle over the water first thing in the morning was pretty.

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_CJSwZGMYoQk/TBpObw56fLI/AAAAAAAABI0/cl4LHVtseDA/s800/IMG_2376.JPG

morning light is great. something about the softness and low angle

And twilight.

The Golden Hours.

In the mid-2000s, I did what I called the Golden Circle Tour, from Melbourne to the Murray River and back down through the old gold-mining fields of Ballarant and Bendigo.

I camped a couple of days on a bank about three metres above the Murray. I woke up to this on morning:

Clearing skies after a night of rain.

Opening my eyes to see a massive, very inquisitive bear's face -- checking out my breath, nose-to-nose.

Opening my eyes to see a massive, very inquisitive bear's face -- checking out my breath, nose-to-nose.

I got the other end:eek:. I awoke to my groundcloth rustling and looked up to see a bare bear butt walking away one fine morning in Yosemite Valley.

Here's a view from the Finnish Lake region. I paddled this part of the tour, but I did bring the kayak to the lake by bike.

--J

Opening my eyes to see a massive, very inquisitive bear's face -- checking out my breath, nose-to-nose.

Uh huh.

And what did you do then?

All I can say is she was gorgeous, and no, I don't have pictures.

Caye Caulker, Belize. Didn't want to leave this place.

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z310/simplygib/CayeCaulker.jpg

Machka, I'm with you WRT coffee!

Brad

Point Sublime, Grand Canyon
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r181/cyccommute/DSCN0142.jpg

Missouri River, White Cloud, KS
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r181/cyccommute/Riversunrise18.jpg
It was a better sunrise than night. The fish gutting station and corn drier made for a...um...memorable night

Chain of Rocks, St. Louis
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r181/cyccommute/ChainofRocks23a.jpg

This one was pretty good. First morning of a cross-North America. Acadia Natl.Park
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/machka-bb/sets/72157630063348587/

That is the coolest picture evar. If you glance at it, the can looks like it might be made out of carbon fiber.

My Wife!!!!

My Wife!!!!

:love: clever

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Near Lysaker, Norway

Best view I've had in the morning?

I can't even remember her name ;)

Camping Tête d'Indien (indian head), Gaspésie. There were northern lights (http://www.borealphoto.com/img/s1/v19/p1126022092-5.jpg) during the night. The place is owned by an American who loved the place so much he moved there. He put together a little tourist guide with places to go and avoid around the Percé area. I had breakfast at "Café Couleurs" on his advice and the waffles with fresh local berries were excellent. The CAfé staff are artists and their work hangs on the Café's wall.
http://www.borealphoto.com/img/s1/v55/p1126022238-3.jpg (http://www.borealphoto.com/p451298178/e431dbc5e)

Grenville park (http://www.grenvillepark.com/) in Prescott on the Waterfront Trail. I've done this trip twice and will do it again. It's a perfect spring short trip for me. This campground is really nice and they got cheaper rates for cyclists.
http://www.borealphoto.com/img/s4/v65/p1126017450-3.jpg (http://www.borealphoto.com/p289543558/e431da9aa)

Anse aux Fraises (Strawberry cove), Anticosti island. Population: 280, dear population: 120 000. And foxes, seals, shorebirds, bald eagles, etc.

http://www.borealphoto.com/img/s4/v62/p1126035102-3.jpg (http://www.borealphoto.com/p333531444/e431dee9e)

Harrington Harbour, a remote fishing village on the St-Lawrence North Coast featured in this movie (www.imdb.com/title/tt0366532). It's only accessible by air or water, or snowmobile in the winter. I was on the Relais Nordik, a cargo/ferry running on the coast. The village is a highlight of the "cruise", but we got there late and most people were sleeping in their cabin.
http://www.borealphoto.com/img/s4/v69/p1126028766-3.jpg (http://www.borealphoto.com/p487729889/e431dd5de)

http://www.borealphoto.com/img/s4/v64/p1126029084-3.jpg (http://www.borealphoto.com/p487729889/e431dd71c)

Whaler's Cabins in Red Bay, Labrador. After learning a ferry I had booked couldn't make it to port due to pack ice, I had turn back. I rode 130km of hilly gravel roads that day with little food. When I arrived at the restaurant/cabins around 10pm, they were waiting for me and prepaired a meal even though they were closed. Some had told them they might have visit from a cyclist.
http://www.borealphoto.com/img/s4/v69/p1126018434-3.jpg (http://www.borealphoto.com/p487729889/e431dad82)

Outside the cabin:
http://www.borealphoto.com/img/s3/v7/p1126018690-3.jpg (http://www.borealphoto.com/p487729889/e431dae82)

The nest day, close to the Labrador & Quebec border.

http://www.borealphoto.com/img/s4/v67/p1126021178-3.jpg (http://www.borealphoto.com/p487729889/e431db83a)

Marmot campsite on the Berg lake trail, Mount Robson provincial park. Spent 5 days on the trail, so 4 mornings waking up at the base of mount Robson.

http://www.borealphoto.com/img/s2/v70/p1207177450-3.jpg (http://www.borealphoto.com/p216275784/e47f410ea)

From Rearguard campsite on the same trail:
http://www.borealphoto.com/img/s1/v56/p1207177428-3.jpg (http://www.borealphoto.com/p216275784/e47f410d4)

Last but not least, at an overflow campground on the Icefield Parkway. There were 2-3 RVs in the main site (more like a parking lot) and I had the while tent and walk-in area for myself: http://youtu.be/f2Xs2uSVacc

And that's about it.

My Wife!!!!

The first thing I want to see when I wake up is my wife... there is nothing more beautiful in this world.

And then we can share the morning together.

this was a nice morning view from a few years ago279421

and this was nice one from last summer.

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sometimes the best views in the morning are the first half hour after you get rolling. You get into the groove, regain that sense of rolling place, and it dawns on you: the view from this bicycle seat is most excellent!