How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountains!

This is a quote from John Muir who advocated for preserving the natural beauty in our country.Every so often I need a head slap from nature to gain back perspective.  Last week, I was lucky enough to do just that when Adrien and I traveled to Mount Desert Island for a mini-vacation. The Island, long a summer destination, is the location of Acadia National Park.The first item on my bucket list was to be at the summit of Cadillac Mountain for sunrise. Cadillac, being the highest point on the Eastern Atlantic Seaboard, is easily reached by foot or by car. Obviously at 4:30 am - the time we would need to start out in order to be on the 1,532 foot summit for the sun's morning appearance - car travel would be my preference over a hike over unknown terrain in the dark.We arrived just as nature was getting ready to put on the show. Even with 50 or more people at the mountain top (and no small percentage of them with camera equipment), we were easily able to find a spot on the bare rocks so that Frenchman Bay and Bar Harbor stretched out below us.  The air was still damp and chilly even though it was July, and most people huddled in heavy sweatshirts or fleece jackets. Some had the foresight to bring coffee.A continually drifting blanket of clouds and fog enveloped us while, visible mid-horizon, a swath of puffy cloud stretched horizontally.Then bit by bit, the hue of that cloud changed as the sun began to make its presence known. Minute to minute, the sky changed its hues from cool blues to warmer, oranges and pinks until at last the sun washed us in the first light of July 16th.In that moment, watching the universe play out its opening scene as ithas for millions of years, the grandeur of the morning overwhelmed me. How precious is this gift of time on earth! How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountains!