Themes - Sunsets

You can be in a place of the world where they don't speak English, drive on the wrong side of the road, eat things we think are crazy, or simply strange. No matter where you are though, a sunset is something to pause for. Nature is one of God's gifts for us to enjoy, but some things are a little more special than others, to me. Mountains, lakes, oceans, trees, etc. are there to stay, for the most part. You only get 1 sunset a day, best case scenario. 

So I've accumulated a handful of pictures taken in the waning hours of sunlight.

These two were taken on a hill in Andrew Molera State Park, in Big Sur California in 2011.

There is a spot just a short walk outside of the town of Manarola, in the Cinque Terre area of Italy, where you can watch the sunset over the Italian coastline and the Mediterranean. These two were from my visit in 2007.

Both taken from the same spot.

Then in 2008, I got another in CT:

One of the best sunsets I've ever witnessed was from a hillside overlooking the town of Dubrovnik, Croatia. All around Dubrovnik, there are small mountainous islands in the Aegean Sea. The sun setting makes the silhouettes of the islands even more impressive than in broad daylight.

Vancouver, Canada has some great sunsets, eh? In fact, they've even named one of their beachfronts after them. Sunset Beach on the west side of the island offers some great evening sights. 

2010 Olympic mascot, Inukshuk, putting Vancouver to bed:

During a trip out west with my brother in 2007, we spent a few days in Arches National Park. In Arches, there is a spot called Delicate Arch, which is an image that shows up on the Utah license plate. It's a great spot for watching the sun go down, as you can watch the sun descending directly on Delicate Arch. There are also great views in all directions though, as you've got the sun setting directly to your west and the San Juan mountains due east. 

Taken from a spot just above Delicate Arch

People had been walking all around Delicate Arch, getting their picture taken with and enjoying close-ups of the picturesque arch. Right at about the time the sun started going down on it, everyone cleared out to sit back and watch. Comically though, one person tried to run up to the arch to get their picture taken by it as the sun was going down, and he got booed off the "stage" by the rest of the audience.

I wish I had had a better camera at the time, but it still looks pretty decent for a point and shoot pocket camera. Finally, the sun went down over the horizon and this is what we saw from the Delicate Arch area.

Later in the same trip, we saw the sun going down over some of the high walls near our campsite in Zion National Park. The sunset was not all that amazing, but the rays coming over the mountain walls were pretty cool.

The desert has some of the best sunsets you will find anywhere. I think its a combination of not having much city light polluting the atmosphere, but also the reds and browns of the earth really accent the dimming sunlight. These were taken in the middle of nowhere Utah, while driving from Knoxville to Redding, California.

Check back later. I may add some more if I catch any more good ones.