{"id":73039,"date":"2020-08-23T05:23:30","date_gmt":"2020-08-23T11:23:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=73039"},"modified":"2026-04-16T06:28:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T11:28:12","slug":"in-every-sunset-there-is-a-promise-and-a-gift-from-nature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/08\/23\/in-every-sunset-there-is-a-promise-and-a-gift-from-nature\/","title":{"rendered":"In Every Sunset There Is A Promise And A Gift From Nature"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload aligncenter wp-image-175014 size-full\" title=\"Colorful clouds at sunset from Red Rock Lakes NWR, Centennial Valley, Beaverhead County, Montana\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/red-rock-lakes-nwr-lower-lake-sunset-mia-mcpherson-8209.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/red-rock-lakes-nwr-lower-lake-sunset-mia-mcpherson-8209.jpg\" alt=\"Colorful clouds at sunset from Red Rock Lakes NWR, Centennial Valley, Beaverhead County, Montana\" width=\"950\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27950%27%20height%3D%27600%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20950%20600%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27950%27%20height%3D%27600%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/red-rock-lakes-nwr-lower-lake-sunset-mia-mcpherson-8209-200x126.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/red-rock-lakes-nwr-lower-lake-sunset-mia-mcpherson-8209-320x202.jpg 320w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/red-rock-lakes-nwr-lower-lake-sunset-mia-mcpherson-8209-400x253.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/red-rock-lakes-nwr-lower-lake-sunset-mia-mcpherson-8209-600x379.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/red-rock-lakes-nwr-lower-lake-sunset-mia-mcpherson-8209-768x485.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/red-rock-lakes-nwr-lower-lake-sunset-mia-mcpherson-8209.jpg 950w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 950px) 100vw, 950px\" \/><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Colorful clouds at sunset from Red Rock Lakes NWR \u2013 Nikon D300, handheld, f5.6, 1\/60, ISO 400, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 18-200mm VR at 35mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n<p>We are about six months into the global pandemic and I know it is wearing on us. The year 2020 has been different in all aspects and not just because of the pandemic, this year has been flat out crazy at times.<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;ve had to change, adapt, and do the best we can under extremely trying circumstances. Nothing has been &#8220;normal&#8221; in our day to day lives.<\/p>\n<p>Throughout my life I have liked to think that every sunset has a promise and a gift from Nature in it. The promise that the sun will rise again in the morning.<\/p>\n<p>The gift is that we have had one more day of living on a spectacular planet. Knowing that has gotten me through some of the worst days of my life and been a source of joy on some of my best.<\/p>\n<p>Because of that I wanted to share a beautiful sunset this morning and I picked this one from the lower lake at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge taken on September 9, 2015.<\/p>\n<p>I can easily recall the peaceful feeling I felt as I photographed it from the campgrounds that evening and the budding excitement I felt for what I might see unfurl in front of my eyes the next day.<\/p>\n<p>I hope that wherever you are you can savor a sunset this evening and remember the promise and the gift from Nature in it.<\/p>\n<p>Life <em>is<\/em> good. Stay safe.<\/p>\n<p>Mia<\/p>\n<p>Click <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/red-rock-lakes-national-wildlife-refuge\/\">here<\/a><\/span> to see more of my Red Rock Lakes NWR photos.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Throughout my life I have liked to think that every sunset has a promise and a gift from Nature in it. The promise that the sun will rise again in the morning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":175014,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1513,223,12,608],"tags":[4101,307,4433,4109,5435,5178,615,10338,4094,4069,4018,3993,3996,4095],"class_list":["post-73039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-beaverhead-county-montana","category-centennial-valley","category-montana","category-red-rock-lakes-national-wildlife-refuge","tag-clouds","tag-evening","tag-evening-light","tag-grasses","tag-hills","tag-lake","tag-lower-lake","tag-lower-lake-campground","tag-marsh","tag-mountains","tag-sky","tag-sunset","tag-water","tag-wetlands"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/red-rock-lakes-nwr-lower-lake-sunset-mia-mcpherson-8209.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-j03","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":41906,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/09\/08\/colorful-sunset-at-red-rock-lakes-national-wildlife-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":73039,"position":0},"title":"Colorful Sunset at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 8, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Watching a colorful sunset at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge fade to the darkness of night is a gift. A wonderful, priceless gift.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Beaverhead County&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Beaverhead County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/montana\/beaverhead-county-montana\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Colorful sunset at the Lower Lake of Red Rock Lakes NWR, Centennial Valley, Beaverhead County, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/red-rock-lakes-nwr-lower-lake-mia-mcpherson-8203.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/red-rock-lakes-nwr-lower-lake-mia-mcpherson-8203.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/red-rock-lakes-nwr-lower-lake-mia-mcpherson-8203.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/red-rock-lakes-nwr-lower-lake-mia-mcpherson-8203.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":34052,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/12\/08\/sunset-paints-the-sky-at-red-rock-lakes-national-wildlife-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":73039,"position":1},"title":"Sunset Paints the Sky at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 8, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The are times when I feel that the sunset paints the sky with vibrant colors and although the earth seems muted at twilight its still anchors me.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Beaverhead County&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Beaverhead County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/montana\/beaverhead-county-montana\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Painted sky at Red Rock Lakes NWR. Lower Lake view of the sunset, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Centennial Valley, Beaverhead County, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/red-rock-lakes-painted-sky-mia-mcpherson-8287.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/red-rock-lakes-painted-sky-mia-mcpherson-8287.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/red-rock-lakes-painted-sky-mia-mcpherson-8287.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/red-rock-lakes-painted-sky-mia-mcpherson-8287.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":28304,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/09\/17\/crepuscular-rays-and-watercolor-skies-at-red-rock-lakes-national-wildlife-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":73039,"position":2},"title":"Crepuscular Rays and Watercolor Skies at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 17, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"My focus is usually birds and animals but as many of you know I also can't resist taking images of the beautiful views I see such as these two views of Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge last week.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Beaverhead County&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Beaverhead County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/montana\/beaverhead-county-montana\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sunset and watercolor skies at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Centennial Valley, Beaverhead County, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/red-rock-lakes-nwr-sunset-mia-mcpherson-8187.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/red-rock-lakes-nwr-sunset-mia-mcpherson-8187.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/red-rock-lakes-nwr-sunset-mia-mcpherson-8187.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/red-rock-lakes-nwr-sunset-mia-mcpherson-8187.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":34743,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/01\/08\/sunset-at-red-rock-lakes-national-wildlife-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":73039,"position":3},"title":"Sunset at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 8, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"This image shows a sunset at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge from September 9, 2015 but every sunrise and sunset on our national lands is a treasure.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Beaverhead County&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Beaverhead County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/montana\/beaverhead-county-montana\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sunset at Red Rock Lakes NWR, Centennial Valley, Beaverhead County, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/red-rock-lakes-sun-set-mia-mcpherson-8216.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/red-rock-lakes-sun-set-mia-mcpherson-8216.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/red-rock-lakes-sun-set-mia-mcpherson-8216.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/red-rock-lakes-sun-set-mia-mcpherson-8216.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":94830,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/09\/12\/colorful-twilight-sky\/","url_meta":{"origin":73039,"position":4},"title":"Colorful Twilight Sky At Red Rock Lakes NWR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 12, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"I don't have much to say today and all I really wanted to do was share this photo of a colorful twilight I took at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge about 6 years ago.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Beaverhead County&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Beaverhead County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/montana\/beaverhead-county-montana\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Colorful twilight at Red Rock Lakes NWR, Centennial Valley, Beaverhead County, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/red-rock-lakes-nwr-sunset-colors-mia-mcpherson-8250.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/red-rock-lakes-nwr-sunset-colors-mia-mcpherson-8250.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/red-rock-lakes-nwr-sunset-colors-mia-mcpherson-8250.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/red-rock-lakes-nwr-sunset-colors-mia-mcpherson-8250.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":918,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2010\/09\/21\/ive-added-a-new-favorite-location\/","url_meta":{"origin":73039,"position":5},"title":"I&#8217;ve Added A New Favorite Location","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 21, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"You can find\u00a0my information and photos\u00a0of Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge here","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Beaverhead County&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Beaverhead County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/montana\/beaverhead-county-montana\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sunlit fence at the lower campground of Red Rock Lakes NWR, Centennial Valley, Beaverhead County, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/red-rock-lakes-stormy-sunset-mia-mcpherson-2551.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/red-rock-lakes-stormy-sunset-mia-mcpherson-2551.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/red-rock-lakes-stormy-sunset-mia-mcpherson-2551.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/red-rock-lakes-stormy-sunset-mia-mcpherson-2551.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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