Photography, Travel

The Night the Sky Caught on Fire

Sunset in Glacier Bay National Park

After a day of cruising through Glacier Bay, Alaska, marveling at the icebergs, which looked as if they had been lit from within by a fluorescent blue light, and at the magnificent Margerie Glacier, whose toe dips down into the frigid Alaskan fjord waters, and then serendipitously catching two separate pods of Humpback Whales bubble-net feeding, my husband and I didn’t think we could take in any more awe.

A little high from the euphoria of the day, we poured ourselves some wine and posted up in our cabin to watch the sunset. We were aboard the thirty-two passenger Alaskan Dream catamaran, and we had been lucky enough to get one of the rooms which faced forward, so we were able to see Alaska coming straight at us for our voyage.

I’d taken so many photos during the day that I was just enjoying the moment, without any intent to capture the sunset. While we sipped our wine and chatted about the marvels we’d seen that afternoon, we watched the “alpen glow” slip across the snow-covered peaks we were cruising towards.

We’d seen the alpen glow blush the bare face of Denali last summer when we stayed at the Back Country Lodge, at the very back of Denali National Park, for several nights. And, now, the peaks in front of us were aflame with the same fire.

We had a small side window in our cabin, but it was held closed with velcro. I was curious about the actual sunset which was creating the alpen glow, but it was off to our left side. So, I un-velcroed it, and immediately grabbed my iPhone to snapped a couple of shots when I saw the show which was unfolding in front of my eyes.

My husband came to join me at the window and our jaws just dropped at the beauty the Goddess was painting across the sky right in front of us. And we’d almost missed it! I guess we realized at that moment that you can never be too full of awe.

Realizing that my pledge to be “camera-free” that evening was futile, I grabbed by Nikon z7II and started taking photos, all the while realizing that the pictures would never truly capture the full essence of what we were experiencing.

Turning back around, the vista we had been watching had darkened, the peaks beginning to melt into the indigo of the horizon. It looked like tangerine sherbet had dripped across the sky and streaks of smoky purple trailed through the heavens as if a dragoness had breathed her hot breath into the dusky night.

Behind us, the fire danced higher and higher, growing brighter and brighter before the embers began to slowly die out.

It was an evening that I will never forget. I’ve witnessed a few epic sunsets like that in places like Lanai and Maui, Hawaii. But to see it evolve over the snow-capped peaks and frigid waters of Glacier Bay was something special.

The sun sets late in the summer in Alaska. We knew that we had a big day cruising through Tracy’s Arm Fjord in the morning, but we stayed up, drinking in both the scenery and the last of our bottle of wine until the very last glowing embers faded to black.

Since I’ve been home, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought about that sunset as I was falling asleep or daydreaming. I think it will forever burn brightly in my mind’s eye.

Erika Burkhalter is a yogi, neurophilosopher, cat-mom, photographer, and lover of travel and nature, spreading her love and amazement for Mother Earth’s glories, one photo, poem or story at a time. (MS Neuropsychology, MA Yoga Studies).

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Photos and story ©Erika Burkhalter.