The Way of the Mountains

There are sunsets.
And then there are sunsets in the Sierra Nevada.

The play of shadow and light on the steep rocky slopes of the granite escarpment of the Sierra Nevada gives rise to unreal sunsets. And nowhere is this more evident than the hallowed landscape of Yosemite National Park. The long rays of sunlight filtering through the remnants of a spring thunderstorm often end up lighting the sheer granite cliffs, creating a evanescent landscape with different geologic features alternately lighting up and disappearing into the shadows.

And sometimes, that scene would transpire to an Sierra Nevada sunset, where the last fleeting rays set fire to none by the highest peaks, while the valleys below get mired in a deep shadow.

This was one such sunset, captured on an spring evening in May many such years ago during one of the many sojourns to my favorite National Park

Yosemite National Park
CA USA

An Ode to the National Parks

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“This grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere;
the dew is never all dried at once; a shower is forever falling; vapor is ever rising.
Eternal sunrise, eternal sunset, eternal dawn and gloaming,
on sea and continents and islands, each in its turn, as the round earth rolls.”

- John Muir

It has been over 7 years since I visited this magnificent temple to the mountains, and every time I see this grand vista, I am forever reminded of the courageous spirits that worked hard to preserve this monument.

And so, on this day, I extend my thanks to the people whose tireless work created not just the National Park system, but also inculcated a sense of conservation in our society.

Yosemite National Park
CA USA