The Case of the Puget Sound Sunset

We had a nice sunset last night as we were enjoying our strawberry shortcake dessert (yes, the strawberries are still in season).  I think what made it particularly interesting is that it combined effects due to fog and haze from the forest fires in Eastern Washington.

It started out in shades of gray as the sun burned through the fog bank hanging around Burrows Island. Here's what we saw:

A sailboat headed for Skyline marina as the sun streams through a break in the fog.

As the sun got lower, and passed through an increasing amount of haze, the scene started to take on some color.

The sun is getting closer to the horizon now.

The scene became more colorful by the minute.

The colors intensified as we watched, and the strawberry shortcake had to wait as I took more pictures. Here's how the scene progressed:

Finally, the sun began to burn through the fog.  You can just barely see it in the next photo directly above its reflections in the water.

The sun begins to burn through the fog enough to be seen.

The sun came and went, but eventually came out stronger as it approached the horizon.

All in all, a beautiful end to the day – and now I could return to my dessert.