As long as the Earth continues to revolve around the sun, we have the opportunity to experience sunrise in all of its splendor. As a morning person, daybreak has always been special. I love the tranquility that early hours bring before most of the world begins to stir. It is my quiet time, a time for contemplation, a time to anticipate what the day will bring.
Over the years, I have experienced memorable sunrises in many different places. Of those, six were particularly special. Each occurred when I was away from my normal routine, exploring someplace unique, typically in a natural setting away from the frenzy of human activity. Unencumbered by the usual cares of the day, my heart and mind were open to new experiences.
Sometimes sunrises were memorable because they were shared with other people. During Crane Season at Rowe Sanctuary in Nebraska, I accompanied guests to Discovery Centers perched on the edge of the Platte River. During morning tours, we waited in the dark with great anticipation for the sun to slowly make its way above the horizon. Daybreak revealed thousands of sandhill cranes roosting in the shallow river, sometimes as far as the eye could see. The morning light accentuated their bodies as they awoke, danced, and flew to nearby fields and wet meadows to feed; their bugling calls filled the air. There was a shared sense of wonder and awe among all who bore witness to this sight.
During a visit to the Galapagos Islands, my mom and I awakened early each morning to climb, cup of coffee in hand, to the M/V Samba’s top deck to watch the sunrise and welcome the day. Fellow passengers still asleep, the two of us sat side-by-side in the crisp morning air soaking up the view as the vessel rocked gently back and forth. Magnificent frigatebirds, with their impressive wings and forked tails, soared overhead highlighted by the rising sun. It was a shared experience we always treasured.
While waiting for the sun to rise at the base of Buxton Glacier at St. Andrews Bay on South Georgia Island, I walked along the shore in the presence of several hundred thousand chattering king penguins; their bodies silhouetted against the sun’s first rays. The experience was enhanced by dozens of elephant seals, adult males roaring like lions, and hundreds of fur seals barking as they defended their territory. The sight of this teaming mass of wildlife punctuated by a cacophony of sounds, blended with the dawn of the new day creating an unforgettable experience that continues to beckon me to return.
During a trip to Hustai National Park in Mongolia, my “daughter” and I rose before dawn on a quest to see gray wolves. Accompanied by a park biologist, we were driven over rutted, bumpy roads several miles from camp to the top of an unnamed mountain. We stood bundled in winter clothes with our backs to the sharp wind, scanning the surrounding mountainsides. As the sun rose over the distant Tuul River Valley, the sky was transformed into a parade of coral, orange, and yellow beneath a layer of gray clouds. Serenaded by vocalizations of red deer at the end of their fall rut, their lonely cries echoed around us. While no gray wolves showed themselves, my heart was nonetheless filled with joy by this enchanted experience.
Another sunrise was memorable because it included an unanticipated surprise. During a trip to the Kingdom of Bhutan, while staying high above the Mo Chhu River in the Village of Punakha, in the last minutes of darkness, I saw the planet Jupiter shining brightly in the sky over the eastern Himalayas beyond the river. As the sun began to rise behind the mountains, scattered clouds took on a brilliant coral-pink glow against the blue-gray sky; Jupiter disappeared. As the sun rose higher, a river of fog rolled in swirling around the valley below, covering the village in a hazy shroud. Just a few minutes later, as if by magic, the fog rolled back out, again transforming the view; trees, houses, and rice paddies were visible once more. It was a captivating sight; a gift for rising early.
Last, but not least, another sunrise was unforgettable because of the physical effort required to see it. Witnessing daybreak at the summit of Mount Kinabalu on the Island of Borneo involved a two-day climb from 6,218 to 13,435 feet and back. After an initial ascent to a mountain hut at 9,600 feet on day one, the second day began with a notably cold, pre-dawn push to the summit. The path was illuminated by a sky filled with radiant stars. Reaching the summit at 4:55 a.m., there was little time for my partner and me to relax before the red, orange, and golden sunrise first colored, and then revealed, the expansive views afforded to us as we stood on the top of the third highest island peak in the world. This created a memory that was both hard-earned and cherished.
As each of my memorable sunrises transformed the sky, my eyes were fixed on the scene unfolding in front of me until the rising sun, in its exquisite brightness, forced me to look away. After taking time to savor the experience, my attention turned to the rest of the day, but not before memories of the sunrise were tucked away in my mind to be cherished for the rest of my life.