A sunset to remember

I never in a million years imagined the warm and wonderful comments that I received yesterday. I'd kept my story quiet for what felt like a long time. I'm so glad that I told it, and that I have such compassionate blog friends. None of us is really alone out here.

While I spent a few hours in the hospital today being injected with radioactive glucose and then being scanned, I remembered an incredible sunset that we saw last week at Dead Horse State Park near Moab, Utah. A popular state park is usually a place that we avoid like the plague because we value solitude in the wilderness. However, we thought that Thanksgiving Day at dinner time would probably be pretty quiet. We were right.

We ventured out to a lookout where we could see a sweeping curve in the Colorado River.

The sun sank toward the horizon with that unbelievable speed that characterizes this time of year.

I glanced to the south and saw cliffs, mesas, and snowy mountains all tinged in pink. When I was a girl, growing up in a crowded part of the eastern part of the country, I had absolutely no idea that vistas like this one existed.

As the sun sank further, I realized that it was bathing us in that honey glow that I love so much on K's fur. Her fur turns copper red, almost aflame with beauty.

As the sun fell further, I glanced down at the river again. The desert moonscape looked alien in the sunset light.

K gazed in the same direction. There was another photographer at the vista, and I'm sure that he couldn't imagine why I was taking photos of my dog at that moment. I couldn't resist capturing her fur in the amazing light.

After the sun had just disappeared, I glanced to the south again. Pink and purple everywhere! Can you believe that places like this exist on our Earth? I can't.

Finally, sunset morphed into dusk and the sky caught on fire.

That's what I thought about during my scary scans today. Nature's beauty keeps my hopes high. This spectacular ride can't possibly be derailed anytime soon. Life is too beautiful and too good.