Lonely Tree in the Painted Dunes

This was nearing the end of a great day in Lassen.  I had been trying to get into this part of the park, but the smoke from fires had been so bad I kept putting it off.  Finally, some clear sky lined up with my time off.  I wanted the sun lower in the horizon, but not too low.  Shadows on dunes are usually exciting, but in this case, I wanted the dunes themselves to be in all their glory.

I had come down from the top of Cinder Cone where I had experienced some of the strongest wind of my life.  Perhaps because of that, my mind was in a different place.  As is often the case I walked past this tree, ... surprisingly far.  I was more excited about a different tree and some other angles.  After giving up on those, I walked back up the trail to start over and immediately saw this tree.  How I missed it the first time is beyond me, but I became really focused at that moment.

There is so much going on in this area, I wanted to put it all in a single picture.  Clearly the dunes and variety of colors.  The darker black cinder in the foreground is so dramatic.  The lava flow in the back can dominate sections of this landscape and I was determined to represent it.  Finally, the trees.  What a testament to life that they can survive here, and wow does the green pop!  This image checks all the boxes for me.