Crossing the North American continent in a scant four hours, dawn settles on the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, and the coastal ranges and beaches of California before departing the western shore. We witness the geo-dramas of Yellowstone geysers, herds of horses and bison on the open range, the spectacular lighting of the Teton Range. Then in California, we see the massive sequoia, tule elk, a rainbow of wildflowers, the Yosemite Valley, and elephant seals on the beach. These are the great sunrise moments in nearly a dozen morning ecosystems of the west.
At 1,532 feet, this is the highest vantage point along the North Atlantic seaboard. During certain times of year, the summit receives the rays of the first rising sun within the United States. The peak is composed of pink granite, and perched above a forest of spruce and pitch pine. Among the granite slabs are tiny sub-alpine plants such as cinquefoil, squat, gnarled trees, wild blueberries, and various sized boulders. The view of the Maine archipelago is unsurpassed, with the Cranberry Islands foremost in the southwest.
They've had seven months of sleep, but now the world's largest population of unhunted brown bears are ready for the sun. They begin the morning in the meadow, playfully mating and grazing on the high protein tidal sedge. A bounding three year-old searches for Mom. The sun rises. The tide drops, Clam flats and the first tasty salmon of the season are revealed. Bears stake out their spot on the beach. Two males posture with the cowboy walk. The cubs claws grip and nurse for mom's high-fat milk. Adolescents chase each other at 35 mph for miles. Sleep lies distant.
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Every winter, the two thousand pound West Indian manatees of Florida's Gulf Coast seek the warm clear waters of inland springs. There, they congregate and gently linger, feeding on plants amidst schools of jack. Spanish moss hangs from twisted limbs and filters the morning mist. Wood ducks nest overnight in the limbs of the nearby trees and take flight at first light. As the sun further brightens, the manatees meander over to check out the cameras, which are positioned split-surface to capture their exhalations every few minutes above and below the surface.
The nocturnal beavers have settled into a small tributary under the sheer cirque walls, rugged ridges and jagged peaks of the Teton Range. Their engineering skill has produced an 8 foot high dam and a new pond for those creatures of the day; a great blue heron fishing in the morning mist, ducks with their ducklings, trout, and a goldfinch feeding her chick. We witness these two communities as they pass each other during the crossroad of dawn.
A tidal lagoon flushes its night load of water under the shadow of the Augustine volcano, a perfect cone that last erupted in 1986. This is a land where the earth quakes uon average- every thirty sunrises. Yet nearby harbor seals are nonplussed. They lazily haul out to dry in the morning breeze. Tiny details of a spun web and lichen contrast the grand sky. Fireweed reclaims the blackened soil, while a distant strand of steam wisps its way into a cloudless sky.
Peaking over the Aegean hills, the sun bathes the valley beneath this 2,800 year old Turkish farming village. A distant Muslim call to prayer, the azan, echoes off stone houses. A Roman aqueduct stretches from the distant hills, built in 125 AD to carry water to the magnificent theater that once graced this town. A cow grazes. An old man picks sweet oranges. A mid-sized raptor, the common buzzard, eyes small mammals in a field. Arching across the eastern sky, the sun
Tempisque Basin, Palo Verde National Park, Costa Rica — The last remaining water from the wet season attracts birdlife to this wide open seasonal marsh of west central Costa Rica. Brilliant reds and oranges streak across the fast moving and scattered clouds, reflected in the shallows. The moon sets. Light increases, as does the wind. Flocks of black-bellied whistling ducks hunker down in the face of its 25 mph persistent force. Long-legged Northern Jacana run jerkily, seeking insects and snails. White Ibis stiffen their necks in the direction of least resistance, reconfigured as living wind vanes. Roseate spoonbills huddle. Passing horses wade and graze.