Sunset. Soulset.
It happens here like few other places. The sun goes down everywhere, and in a lot of places, that’s pretty much all it does. When I think of the best sunsets I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been a few places in my life, a small handful of places jump to mind: Kauai, Zion, Puerto Vallarta, Montana, and Ogden, Utah.
Granted, the vast majority of the sunsets in my memory are experienced here, and I have a bias due to something called “pride in place,” but I think I’m being as objective and honest as I can be.
It’s not just the incredible variety of clouds that form over the Great Basin in the crazy weather patterns flowing in from northern California to Alaska.
It’s not just the alpenglow phenomenon of eastward behemoths like Ben Lomond, Lewis Peak, Mt. Ogden or Strawberry Peak still catching sunlight long after the Sun has dipped below the horizon in the west.
It’s not just the mid-summer rainbows when southern monsoons roll through. It’s not just the way a fresh blanket of snow reflects the color of the evening sky like an alpine lake.
It’s the way this place slows down and bathes in it. Most of us around here have a place we like to be during the magic hour. It might be your front porch. It might be your best friend’s deck or patio. It might be on the rooftop or sidewalk of your favorite happy hour spot. It might be a trail overlook or a local park while you play fetch with your dog. You might be at one of my best friends’ houses where the saying goes, “When the mountains are pink, it’s time to drink.”
Around here, most of us stop to take a breath and soak it in. During the winter, it’s the “après ski hour.” During the summer, it’s Twilight. Look it up.
I’m not saying every sunset is Instagram-worthy. There are a few gray, dull days when the winter storms really set in. There are a few scorchers in the summer when even sunset doesn’t seem to bring relief from the heat, so you don’t step outside to look.
But for a disproportionately large number of days throughout the year, you’re going to get a better sunset around here than most other places.
While you’re at it, you might as well spend the night.
Just sayin’.
Whether you’re a resident or a visitor to our area, we’d love to see your best sunset pics and your ritual sunset spots.
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