The last time Quin was up in Seattle, he told me that he had a concept for a “van life” shot in Mount Rainier National Park that he wanted to get. Apparently, he had visited the park a few other times, hoping to bring the photo to life, but Rainier is an elusive lady, and she had always been obscured by clouds. We checked the weather and decided we would try to make it happen the next day.

Usually, when we are planning a super early shoot, we drive the van to that location, so that we can just wake up, roll out of bed, and take the photographs. It’s probably my favorite thing about traveling in the van! No early morning drives. But of course, you can’t sleep in your car at Mount Rainier National Park, (or any National Parks for that matter). So instead, the next morning, we drove to the park in the pitch black, and then drove back and forth along an empty road looking for the spot that Quin had seen a couple years earlier. But it was dark, and we couldn’t see the mountain, which made framing the photo next to imposable. We decided we would park the van, watch an episode of the Office, and wait for it to get a little lighter out.

No sooner had the engine cooled down when we heard the heart-sinking sound of knocking on the van door. Two rangers stood outside, ready to write us a citation for car camping. We explained that we had just arrived in the park and were waiting for sunrise to take photos. Luckily they were super chill about it, and after a quick tour of the van, they headed off just in time for us to watch some of most stunning lenticular clouds of my life form over Rainier.