Sour grape sunrise + repost

From all of the amazing images I have seen of Mt Rainier and the paradise meadows, I knew I had to try and get a glimpse of this spectacle during a magical moment. This morning, could have went either way. I woke up at 5am, put on the boots, had to wake up the others who were willing to get up for another 5am morning call and headed for paradise. Upon leaving the campground, turning onto the main road had all but made me worry that I would never see the mountain. The thickest fog I've ever seen and been through, you could not see more than 25 feet in front of you. Luckily, it was only a short distance to make it to paradise, but due to the rain like fog it took much longer to get up there. Finally, we arrived at the parking lot, a few cars that were there the previous night still there and the mountain, still sleeping in the fog. I forced myself to continue on the trail whether the fog lifted or not, and search for any decent wildflower meadows. I didn't hike very far, and settled on this "nice" meadow full of lupine. It looked much fuller in person, but I hunched down and set up the gear. I fired off a few shots and then something special happened. The fog began to clear just as the sun broke. The conditions couldn't have been better. The light was unusual however, it wasn't quite vivid and orange like a typical sunrise. Instead, it turned into this pink purply color I hadn't seen before. The colors are partly due to the use of a grad ND filter, but I liked them and it complimented the lupine in the meadow. These conditions lasted almost the entire time I was amongst the trails as the sky began to get to a "normal" sunrise type color. I now know why they have deemed this place paradise. Comments and critiques appreciated.

Canon 7d
Canon 17-40mm @17mm
f16
ISO 100
.8 sec
2 stop grad ND filter
tripod