The alarm went off at 4:00am. I ran a tight ship on this road trip and we needed to be in the car by 4:10am to get a decent spot for our tripods at Mesa Arch at least an hour before sunrise, which was slated for 5:56am this morning. There were a few groans from both of us but we grabbed our gear and were off.

We pulled out of our hotel at 4:11am. We were about the 7th and 8th person to arrive at Mesa Arch after a 45 minute drive from Moab into Canyonlands National Park. We set up our tripods, played with our camera settings, talked to some of the other crazies who came for this one epic shot, and waited. 

When you stop, and wait, and watch for the sun to rise; the inspiring signal of a new day, you get a sense of renewal and wonder and hope. Every single day is a gift. Every single day should fill us with joy and gratitude for the privilege we have to observe the created order all around us. In a world that chases after the mundane, stupefies itself with social media, and dulls itself with drink or drug, few are those who truly get to see the world as it was meant to be seen: as the canvas of the Master Painter, not the product of random chance and blind atoms.

As the sun rises above the horizon and lights up the underside of Mesa Arch, cameras clicked, and voices grew louder at the wonder before us. Every single person present ooh’d and ahh’d as light filled the sky. 

Despite the morning rush and half opened eyes, the best part of this brief moment was that I got to share it with my dad, doing something we both loved. It will be a sunrise moment I will always remember, not just for the glorious light that broke through the darkness that morning, but for who I got to share it with.