June 20, 2020, the second-longest day of the year.  I am up early so that I can watch the sunrise.  Sunrise will happen at about 5:15 on the right hand flank of China Cap in the Wallowa Mountains.  The sky is filled with a broken cloud cover.  The sun is still well below the horizon.  Therefore, because of the curvature of the earth, the light of the sun is able to hit the underside of the clouds in my valley.  The result is spectacular.  An orange, fan-shaped light source below and to the left of China Cap has turned the entire sky orange, yellow, pink, and red.

I run for my camera.  I get the sight recorded, but I don't get to see the sunrise.  The clouds fill in before the sun comes up.  I don't get to record the time or get to see exactly where the first spark of fire appears on the slopes of China Cap.

It is of interest, though, that the rays of the approaching light source were coming up from a focal point to the left of China Cap, yet I knew that the first spark of fire would be on the right flank of the mountain.  That is because the sun is rising just as far north as it will get, and will then make a broad arc across the valley.  At midday the sun will be far to the south of my house, and will continue its long arc until sundown happens on the very lowest right-hand flank of Twin Mountain.  Sundown will be at about 7:52.

Because of the arc that is the sun's path, it looked like the sun would rise to the left of the China Cap peak; but as the earth spun and the time came for sunrise, the earth had turned enough that the sun rose to the right of the peak.

Hopefully tomorrow will be clear, and I can track the full course of the sun on the longest day of the year.