Mineral Mountain Rd

We had a pretty good chance of rain yesterday. Around 50%. By noon the sky looks as it usually does under these conditions. Clear blue sky over the Valley with clouds in the distance to the north, east, and south. Some of the clouds looked photogenic and the closest ones were to the east, so that's the direction I went.

The Superstition Mountains are in shade.

I went east far enough that I was shaded by clouds now and then, which was near Queen Valley. It was only about 100 out there, too. I might have gone for a hike but I had to get back to town by 5, so I just drove around taking pictures.

All of my pictures of Dromedary Peak seem to have clouds in them.

Before long, I could see some storms building to the south and east. That was another reason to not stay out there too long. I didn't want to get trapped by flowing washes or muddy roads.

There's a storm building back there. Right now it's mostly hidden by the fluffy clouds in the foreground.

Twelve minutes later and the top of the storm is easily visible. Looks dark and rainy beneath the cloud, too.

The weather was still nice out there by the time I left. Just a few minutes down the road, I looked in the mirror and it was mostly black behind me. The sun was shining on Picketpost Mountain and it really stood out.

Brightly lit Picketpost Mountain with a backdrop of stormy weather.

The storms that I was watching form out there pushed some dust into the Valley. It was some of the thickest dust I've seen. I made a short video.

Dust storm hits Mesa.

Click below to see all of the pictures.

2012_07_21