9th South Sunsets

I can’t be happier with the decision to accelerate the dates three weeks early for Daylight Savings. Coupled with the mahvelous weather we have had lately, it’s good to see people out and about in nature’s environs and soaking up the sun.
One of the events of spring and summer I look forward to the most is watching the sun’s path take a northern route. For most of the winter, the Oquirrh Mountains on the west side of the Salt Lake Valley hide the sun early, and the end of the day as far as daylight goes is around 5 pm. Talk about depressing! But now, the date being March 14, the sun is just climbing over the northern end of the Oquirrhs and just shaving the smokestack just south of I-80.
The sky tonight looked as if it were on fire. I was driving up 9th South, and noticed in my rear view mirror that the collision of the sun’s rays and the clouds were painting a perfect Monet, with brilliant hues and shades of pink, orange, purple and fuchsia. In all reality, it was more of a 1050 South sunset, but the colors were almost perfect tonight, so I’m giving it an Honorable Mention. 9th South sunsets have always given me hope and wild anticipation for the upcoming spring season.
In about a week, the sun will be setting perfectly in alignment with 9th South. If you live in SLC, try and find yourself up by the East High baseball field or the old reliable, Donner Trail Park just above the zoo as the evening daylight begins to falter. Pray for cloud cover. The best sunsets involve cumulus and cirrus cloud formations.
Now, the real treat for all you sunset chasers is to climb to the “Living Room” up on Red Butte. It takes a good 45 minutes to get up there, but that is one sunset you will never forget. Just make sure to take flashlights for the way out. A friend of mine and I came down from that hike by ourselves one night, and she swore we were being stalked by a cougar. So go up in a group. The only other place I would suggest a better view is up near Mt Francis, just east of Farmington. My cousin Jeremy took me up there and it dang near took us 3 hours to get to the top. We camped in a saddle, and I will never forget the view. I believe Francis is around 10,000 feet, and we could see over Antelope Island on the Great Salt Lake and out to the Pilot Peak mountain range, just north of Wendover, NV. The sunset that night went on forever. And it was also the first time I ate Pork and Beans out of a can over the fire. Ahh, the memories from yesteryear brim with nostalgia.
So get off your duff in the evenings this spring and enjoy the sunsets as we count down into summer.