A Favorite Evening Ride

We have a favorite ride we often  take as day is winding down. It's our own highway, a road beautiful at any time of day (and I love it just as much in the morning light), but it is such a conveniently short distance from the cabin that we often drive a few miles after an early supper for a quiet, peaceful, and unobstructed view of sunset over mountains and desert. 

Of course, it isn't only the sun setting in the west that captures the eyes of the Artist and the seasonally retired philosopher-bookseller. It is the light in all directions -- before, during, and after the sun has gone down. See how the last low light of day is reflected on the prickly pear cactus pads? And how it bathes the range in gold?

As the sun dips below the horizon (or as our portion of the earth turns away from the sun and toward the night), the clear desert sky turns from cool blue to blazing warm colors of the Western palette, and souls sigh in contentment.