drinking in the sunset

Sunsets are my favorite, favorite thing. The only thing that makes a good sunset better is enjoying it with a nice glass of wine while you watch the sun paint watercolor swaths across the sky, gilding the clouds with a heavenly glow. Lake Powell has some pretty epic sunsets. Something about the red sandstone cliffs towering over the aquamarine water and the crystal blue sky combine to create this incredible, unusual canvas for the sun to work her magic on. And if there's clouds? All bets are off. Spectacular!

This is not my picture. Lost camera...remember?
But we did have a sunset that looked
almost just like this so I'm borrowing it...
just so you get the flavor.

Some of the most breathtaking sunsets I've ever seen were at Lake Powell. Other top ones on the list? Maui on the surf beach. Puerto Vallarta on our honeymoon 10 years ago. And, oddly enough, good ol' SLC busts out some pretty fantastical sunsets. I'm guessing it has to do with the water vapor over the Great Salt Lake which is west of the city and embraced by the mountain ranges on either side. So there are some gorgeous, stop-the-car-on-the-interstate-to-take-a-picture-worthy sunsets here.

Anyway, back to the story...when we go to Powell with Scott's family we don't drink. As far as people know anyway. Every so often the 52-ounce gas station drink mug has a little special sauce along with the Gatorade. Not drinking is not a big deal, but I do find it frustrating that I can't pour myself a nice little glass of Chardonnay, wander up to a sandstone peak for a front row view of those gorgeous sunsets and a few minutes of peace and pondering. Sometimes I want to just bust out a bottle, a glass and a corkscrew, say I'm over 40, life is short and sunsets are just better with wine and go for it.

But I don't. Because I love and respect my family and their beliefs. And let's face it, wine or no wine, a good sunset will still give you a nice buzz that has absolutely nothing to do with alcohol content.