photos taken 1/27/2010, first 2 about 15 minutes before sunset at 5:15, the moon an hour later.

We took the “Looking for Alpenglow” show on the road last evening. The start was visible on the mountain tops that we see through the trees but neighbors are in residence making the usual loop off limits.
Temperatures stayed very cold and skies very clear all day. As the sun set behind Blacktail Mountain, west of the valley, the glow started low.
The telltale pink hit some low clouds.
Some of the pink hit the mountain tops.
And the light lit the road home.

The steeper the ridgeline
The hotter the sunshine
The sweeter the alpenglow*
It’s a long way over this mountain
A long long way to climbThere’s a song that I must keep singing
It’s a prayer and it moves me through timeThe things that will hurt you
The ones that desert you
They’ll help you more than you’ll ever know*
The steeper the ridgeline
The hotter the sunshine
The sweeter the alpenglowThe more the resistance
The greater the distance
The sweeter the alpenglow*
*Lyrics from “For the weary” written by Allison Sattinger, Sunny Rising Music Allison’s Steady Heart CD
Photos taken 10/24/2009, 6:10-6:30 p.m. Sunset was approximately 6:27.

A bit of alpenglow as the sun dipped under the clouds and the low, ever more southern rays, lit the mountain and valley tree tops this evening.

A bit of alpenglow from last evening.
…And yes, that is a snow squall moving in from stage left. We had snow off and on all day but at my house, it melted between squalls and ended the day with just a dusting before it fell below the freezing mark.



This is what I see from the window behind my desk as the alpenglow begins its fiery show. It does not happen every evening. A combination of clear skies in the right place to allow the setting sun’s reflecting rays to light sky and mountain tops – a small miracle of the right conditions – creates the glow which ranges from a pale pink to a vivid orangeish magenta. This night (January 14, 2009), I saw the glow through the trees and as on many other nights ran out to see what I could see and capture. For me, it is like sunrise and sunset – I never tire of watching the changing color and light.




Alpenglow…again.