Mountain Moonrise & Dante's Sunset
The sun was settling low over the Panamint Mountains to the west. It was the subject that held the attention of the handful of people standing along the narrow ridge called Dante's View, atop the adjoining Amargosa Mountains to the east. Between the ranges lay the vast salt basin of Death Valley. Like the others, I had driven up to Dante's View and then walked out along the dirt trail to watch the sunset. With a few clouds ringing the horizon the setting sun created a wonderful show, grabbing everyone's attention.
But when I turned to look east, I saw that there was another player in the game. The moon was rising as the sun was setting, a sort of celestial changing of the guard. The warm, red light of the sunset brought out glorious colors of fuchsia, lavender, lilac, rust, and russet to the peaks and sky, with the moon shining brightly above. The two performances competed for my attention: I was determined not to miss the moment of actual sunset behind the mountains to the west, but I was also delighted by the changing colors and shadows across the mountains to the east. I spent the next ten minutes swiveling back and forth (careful of my footing), and grinning with joy.