moonrise, sunrise

as we drove down the mountain from chasing the sunset, we turned around a bend and were hit in the face with the gleaming full moon, striking and spectacular hung in the indigo sky. we stopped at tunnel view, grabbed an ipod and speaker, and sat on the stone wall to watch the moonrise. we got there just in time, as the glow of the moon had just started to hoover above the granite bluffs. we listened to the most devastatingly beautiful song on repeat as we watched the earth move, the moon inching from sliver to sphere. the night was still and the valley felt bathed in sacredness and wonderment. it was magic.

 

we drove back to our campsite and had a little dinner picnic in our tent. we ended up sharing a campsite with a group of french boys on an american west road trip. they invited us to join them for some beers by the fire, and we told them we were exhausted. well, let me tell you what, from about 11pm-3am we were cursing those boys and their beer. we didn’t sleep much, but still woke up at 5am to chase the sunrise.

we drove to the sentinal dome trailhead in the dark and starting hiking just as the horizon was turning ivory with the first light of day. we hiked fast. i quite ran the last few tenths of a mile as the world was brightening quicker. we got to the top of the granite dome just in time.

that hour on top of that massive rock was certainly one of the most transcendent, magnificent slices of time spent with nature that i’ve ever experienced. i felt so close to heaven. a brilliant taste of god’s glory.