The Gazette's best scenic photos of 2018

The cloud base lowers as storm clouds rotate over Fairfax, Iowa, and parts of southwest Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in this photo taken looking northwest from the intersection of Edgewood Rd. SW and 76th Avenue SW on Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2018. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

A riverboat moves up the Mississippi River near the Julien Dubuque Monument in Dubuque on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2017. Dubuque, a French trader and one of present-day Iowa's first European immigrants, is buried at the site of the monument near his father-in-law and former Meskwaki leader, Peosta. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)

Trees display fall colors in Iowa City on Thursday, Oct. 11, 2018. (Stephen Mally/The Gazette)

St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church in Stone City is on the national register of historic places and was designed by Dubuque architect Guido Beck. Photographed along the Grant Wood Scenic Byway on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2017. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)

Snow falls on trees that still have a few leaves in City Park in Iowa City on Sunday, November 25, 2018. (Cliff Jette/The Gazette)

Smoke of the wood-burning furnace drifts over a farm field as it is lit by the rising sun north of Fayette, Iowa, on Tuesday, April 24, 2018. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

A red leaf hangs from an oak tree alongside the lake at Terry Trueblood Recreation Area in Iowa City on Sunday, October 21, 2018. (Cliff Jette/The Gazette)

Fog covers the lake at Terry Trueblood Recreation Area in Iowa City on Monday, January 22, 2019. (Cliff Jette/The Gazette)

Riders pedal north toward Hills after leaving Riverside during RAGBRAI on Friday, July 27, 2018. Friday's route ended with an overnight stay in Iowa City. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)

Riders roll into Kalona during RAGBRAI on Friday, July 27, 2018. Friday's route ended with an overnight stay in Iowa City. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)

I have seen this flag many times while driving along I-80 but I finally stopped to take a picture of the barn that surrounded by a soy bean field and a few cows. The barn, owned by Doug Harrison, is on 215th Street in Iowa County and is visible when looking north on I-80 just east of the Oxford exit. Harrison says he receives mail from people from across the country who have seen, what he calls, the 'Flag Waving Barn.' In the future, he would like to get stars placed on the blue section to complete the flag image. Photographed on Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2018. (Stephen Mally/The Gazette)

Restoration of the clock at Cornell College's King Chapel began last month with the first step: removal of the hands and numbers from the clock faces on Tuesday, June 19, 2018. I joined Cornell facilities workers and clock restorers in the 130-foot-tall tower as they brought the clock faces into the tower to remove the numbers. With one face still inside the tower, Jim Roeser leaned out for a view of campus, though it was partially obscured by a rainstorm. Roeser's brother, Chuck Roeser, is the owner of clock restoration firm Essence of Time of Lockport, New York, where the 1882 Seth Thomas clock will be restored over the next year. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)

Cattle graze in a field north of Maquoketa along the Grant Wood Scenic Byway on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2017. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)

Cat tails are dusted with snow at Wickiup Hill Learning Center in Toddville on Saturday, Nov. 17, 2018. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)

It's fall and in Iowa that means harvest season. The sun is finally out and a John Deere combine works on a soybean field seen in an aerial photograph in rural Johnson County on Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2018. (Stephen Mally/The Gazette)

Long time exposures combined with an in-camera multiple exposure feature create streaks from the headlights and taillights of a combine as a farmer harvests soybeans in a farm field in rural Swisher, Iowa on Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018. 'I've wanted to make this photo for years,' said Gazette photojournalist Jim Slosiarek. 'I saw the farmer harvesting in this field but didn't have a tripod with me. Luckily, I don't live too far away. So, I drove home, grabbed a tripod out of the garage and poked my head in the house and told my wife not to wait for me to eat dinner. She's a former journalist, so she's used to the crazy hours and missed meals. It wasn't exactly what I had in mind but I'm pretty happy with it.' (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

The idea for this photo came to mind over the summer. The first time I attempted to get the shot the lights on the sign weren't on. I had to wait for another full moon, when there was a clear sky, and the sign was on. I got that chance on Thanksgiving night. A full moon, known as the beaver moon, rises behind the Quaker Oats sign in Cedar Rapids on Thursday, Nov. 22, 2018. (Stephen Mally/The Gazette)

A test image for a projected light show is displayed on the Old Capitol Building in Iowa City on Thursday, Oct. 4, 2018. Swiss Light Artist Gerry Hofstetter and his daughter Céline Hofstetter present Light Art Grand Tour USA – 50 US Monuments in the Spotlight – Exploring history and friendship. The 'Light Art Grand Tour USA', which runs from 2017 to 2019, will feature one U.S. monument/landmark per state. (Stephen Mally/The Gazette)

People arrive for My Fair Lady at Theatre Cedar Rapids and a Newsboys concert at US Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids on Friday, Oct. 5, 2018. TCR is among the local organizations that receive hotel motel tax allocations from the city. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)

Sun reflects under the Second Avenue bridge at Asian Fest at the McGrath Amphitheater in Cedar Rapids Saturday, July 28, 2018. The event, now in its fifth year, featured food, fashion, music and demonstrations from Asian-Americans living in eastern Iowa. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)

Geese huddle on a patch of ice in the Cedar River as temperates hover below 0 degrees and steam rises from the Ingredion plant in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)

Roanna Burnell and her husband Robert of suburban Philadelphia, Penn., walk along a path as they explore Dancehall Cave on their anniversary week vacation to Iowa at Maquoketa Caves State Park near Maquoketa, Iowa, on Thursday, Aug. 16, 2018. After extensive renovations including new boardwalks, LED lighting through Dancehall Cave, new electric service to campground sites, a concession pavilion and new ceilings and roof for the shower building in the campground, the park will reopen to the public Aug. 24. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Lime Creek runs through Rowley on Monday, Oct. 29, 2018. Dick Sloan's farm is part of the Lime Creek and Bear Creek watersheds, which feed the Cedar River. Sloan has implemented no-till farming, cover crops, filter strips and grassed waterways on his 800 acre farm as part of the Lime Creek Watershed Project, in an effort to reduce nutrient runoff. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)

I traveled to Petersburg with reporter Alison Gowans for a story on the fundraising campaign by historic church, Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Petersburg, which stands on a hill at the intersection of 160th Street and 300th Avenue on Wednesday, May 16, 2018. Iowa's small town Catholic churches have have always interested me for their prominence and interesting architecture, and Sts. Peter and Paul was no exception. While children from the adjacent school have mass every Wednesday, adult members of the parish also come for mass and then meet across the street for coffee. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)

The I-80/I-380 interchange seen looking north in Iowa City on Thursday, June 7, 2018. The Iowa City Municipal Airport will celebrate its 100th year of service with a weekend of activities, including rides in antique airplanes. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)

Midland hosts Lone Tree in the first quarter of their high school football game in Wyoming on Friday, Aug. 17, 2018. (Stephen Mally/The Gazette)

The Bay Settlement Monument, erected in 1865, features the names of the 14 men who gave their lives during the Civil War and is the centerpiece of the annual Decoration Day commemoration at Upper Bay Cemetery at the Bay Settlement Church and Monument in rural Delhi, Iowa, on Wednesday, May 30, 2018. The service follows the original program presented on this date in 1866. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

'I've been baked, sandblasted and soaked while covering the Iowa Girls' High School State Softball Championships,' said Gazette staff photographer Jim Slosiarek. 'Sometimes all in the same day. But it is probably my most favorite state tournament to cover.' 'The action is pretty good at this level of competition and the players and coaches show some great emotion as they play for their respective schools. The rainbow that formed during the class 2A championship game between the Iowa City Regina Regals and the Louisa-Muscatine Falcons at Harlan Rogers Sports Complex in Fort Dodge, Iowa, on Thursday, July 19, 2018 was icing on the cake of a great week.' (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

a flower blooms on a Christmas cactus in the greenhouse at Culver's Garden Center & Greenhouse in Marion, Iowa, on Thursday, Jan. 11, 2018. The cactus blooms from about Christmas time to about the end of February. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

A full moon rises behind the water tower in Tiffin on Sunday, Apr. 29, 2018. April's full moon is known as the Pink Moon but despite the name, the moon is not actually colored pink. The name comes from the ground phlox, which are pink flowers that bloom in the early spring. (Stephen Mally/The Gazette)

Grass blows in the wind in the Rompot neighborhood in southeast Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2018. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Snow clings to tree limbs as trees are reflected in the water at Prairie Park Fishery in southeast Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Monday, April 9, 2018. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Water spills from the lake into the Iowa River at Lake Macbride State Park in Solon on Friday, Feb. 23, 2018. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)

A groundskeeper mows the course at Jones Golf Course in Cedar Rapids on Monday, Sept. 10, 2018. The course is partially under water due to flooding of Prairie Creek and the Cedar River. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)

Corn plants stand in flood water from the swollen Iowa River in a farm field along Highway 151 south of Amana, Iowa on Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2018. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Microbes do work of treating in one of the lagoons at the three-cell aerated lagoon system facility at the Eastside wastewater treatment facility, one of two water treatment facilities operated by the City of Tipton in Tipton, Iowa on Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

The sun backlights leaves as it filters through the forest canopy along 160th St. in rural Homestead, Iowa, on Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2018. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

The view of downtown Cedar Rapids, Iowa, from a scenic overlook atop the Cedar Rapids Linn County Solid Waste Agency's capped landfill, aka Mount Trashmore, at 2250 A Street SW in southwest Cedar Rapids on Thursday, April 19, 2018. People will get an opportunity to experience the view for themselves during Ecofest. Buses will shuttle people to the top to see the views and learn about the pavilion and trail system being built on the site. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Farmland and rolling hills make up Iowa's driftless region along Highway 9 near Lansing, Iowa, on Friday, June 22, 2018. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Leaves show their fall colors along 107th St. in rural Marengo, Iowa, on Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2018. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

A couple looks over Bellevue and the Mississippi River from Bellevue State Park on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2017. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)

A view of the Mississippi River and the the historic Black Hawk Bridge that connects Wisconsin and Iowa from atop Mount Hosmer from Mount Hosmer Park in Lansing, Iowa, on Friday, June 22, 2018. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Sun filters through a canopy of dogwood leaves in the Bur Oak Land Trust's Big Grove Preserve in rural Solon, Iowa, on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018. Volunteers and workers are clearing areas of the forest floor of more undesirable trees to allow young oaks and hickories and other desirable vegetation to grow. The trust acquired 40 acres contiguous to another 40-acre plot that the trust already owns. The 80-acre Big Grove Preserve is next to 132 acres of land acquired by the Johnson County Conservation Board from Dick Schwab and Katherine Burford. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Storm clouds move in of the Quaker Oats tower and the Cedar River as traffic rolls along Ellis Boulevard NW as seen from the Ellis Park Boat Harbor in northwest Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)