We decide to 4 wheel drive up in the hills above our lot again, to catch another sunset. The best Arizona sunsets are always in winter or when there are some clouds available, but today we’ve had smoggy air due to the burning of trash that they do in Mexico, a scant 30 miles away. We figure with the haze we should at least have some vivid enhancement of color.
We pick another trail this time but it still has some rough steep spots before bringing us to a flattened area with a couple of fire pits people have built over the years. It’s very quiet; other than the wind, we hear nothing beyond our own muted voices as we wander around taking pictures. At some point it looks as though the BLM had information on a hike that starts from this area which appears to climb the mountain and then disappears. Some idiot decided that the sign would make a better target and has needlessly destroyed someone’s hard work. We do note that the hike might be worth doing in the cooler and snakeless weather of winter.
As the skies turn dusky and grey, the far mountains disappear into a hazy profile. Far away, Pichaco Peak will appear only on maximum zoom with my camera. We try photographing the bats flying low out of the mountains but never manage to catch them on camera as anything but an unrecognizable smudge in the sky, but they entertain us as we wait for sunset.
As a giant glowing ball gliding towards earth the sun seems to move in slow motion until it’s blinding light touches a piece of distant landscape, then the descent seems to hasten all at once, giving the impression that the sun is literally dropping from the sky. I snap picture after picture and post them here with no enhancements or changes to the original as the glowing orb made its final and last impression on this day that it will never see again.
