Sunsets

Where I live, I am blessed to have good views nearly to the horizon in all directions provided I walk a couple of hundred feet up the road.  More often than not, you will find me wandering up the road in the evening for a short walk as a way to relax at the end of the day.  Of course, if I lived on the bank of a great trout stream I would probably be knee deep in the water, but life should be taken as it comes.  Thus, for the time being, I'll be content with my evening stroll.  The most consistent draw on these walks is watching the sunset.  If I could drag myself out of bed consistently early each morning I would watch the sun rise as well, but so far I only catch that phenomenon every now and then. 

The vast horizon tends to offer up some pretty special sunsets although sometimes they sneak up on me when I least expect it.  Yesterday was such a day.  As I headed up the road from my house, I had my camera dangling around my neck, hopeful for a nice end to the day but not really expecting much.  In fact, the sky seemed to be indicating that the day would end with high clouds streaming overhead, giving the day a gray finish.  When I made it about 100 feet from my house, this is all I saw...

By the time I made it 200 feet, there were vague indications of the treat ahead although I was still somewhat pessimistic about my chances of a light show.

 
A quarter of a mile down the road, a glow started spreading from low in the western sky.  A beautiful end to a nice day, but nothing spectacular.  I was happily snapping a couple of pictures before resuming my walk.

After three pictures, what I saw made me run up the road to a better vantage point.  The following 20 or so minutes were one of great examples of why you should always carry a camera.  I couldn't take enough pictures although in situations like this the pictures never seem good enough.  In my mind I have a memory, and in pictures I still have at least an impression of how beautiful the sky was.  For several minutes, a brilliant sun pillar was standing in the western sky.  The whole experience just reminded me how fortunate I am to live in a place where I can see the sunset and especially have the time to do it.