By: John W. Garbutt- Class of 2019
From the earliest faint light of astronomical sunrise through civil sunrise, to the sun cresting the horizon; witnessing the start of a new day has always been my favorite time of day. It is tranquil to hear the bird’s dawn chorus during the blue hour when the sky is a faint hue of blue before the color begins to show. Something about the world at that moment is serene. Then there is the brief window during golden hour which produces the softest light across the land. I have joked many times that I have woken up at 11pm-3am to drive somewhere to see the sunrise in a special location. There is some truth to that statement.
One of my favorite experiences is driving into the sunrise through the open prairies and marshes of southeast Texas on the way to High Island and Bolivar Peninsula. Last year my sister and I had a long discussion about the stages of twilight through the phases of astronomical, nautical, and civil twilight. We witnessed these as the light and birds overhead slowly increased.
Another favorite spot is looking back to the east from the entrance at Davis Mountains State Park. Then there was the one birthday trip to Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico with the most beautiful orange sky full of Snow and Ross’s Geese. My favorite location to witness the sunrise is the Bison Trail along West Cache Creek in the Wichita Mountains.
Whether on the road, already in the field, or from the couch with my morning coffee, there is something special about waking and watching the progression of the sunrise each day. No matter what the day before held, the sunrise distills us down to the basic human desire to persevere. The sunrise reminds us that through hardships and failure; and yet also, to not rely on past successes; that it is new day full of opportunity and unknowns. The new day is what we make it in the end. If we fail, there is a sunrise tomorrow.
7/21/2019- The end of blue hour over the lake at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge.
11/24/2019- Belted Kingfisher during golden hour and the mist as it hunts over Deaver Pond at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge in Sherman, TX.
12/31/2019- The geese at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico.
9/23/25- For me, nothing beats the sunrise at the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.
