October 31, 2015: The Window, Big Bend National Park

Of all the magnificent scenes that Big Bend National Park has to offer, none is more compelling than that of The Window, a V-shaped notch in the Chisos Mountains visible from the Chisos Basin visitors center complex. This past Saturday, while on vacation in Big Bend, I waited for sunset to appear through The Window — the obligatory, must-take-home photographic shot. But while waiting for the brilliant hues that only a far West Texas sky can provide, I found myself tracking another kind of light. Every few seconds, it seemed, the rays of light subtly moved, shifting their course from the tops of mountain peaks to down near The Window Trail that I and thousands of other park visitors have traveled.

I lowered the camera and watched the near-final light of day dance across the valley below. Then I raised the camera, sampling the light, grateful that it was not yet time for the sun to descend.