“This grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never all dried at once; a shower is forever falling; vapor is ever rising. Eternal sunrise, eternal sunset, eternal dawn and gloaming, on sea and continents and islands, each in its turn, as the round earth rolls.”

- John Muir, The Wilderness World of John Muir

Howdy partners,

Tonight, an uncommon inquiry: how do you spend your sunsets?

It’s a worthwhile question no one ever asks. As the sun nears the horizon, the sky turns yellow and orange, and the clouds are painted in pinks and reds, how often do you deliberately head out to take it all in?

Probably because I grew up in the Arizona desert (which, having been a plethora of places on Earth, seems to have some of the most epic and surreal sunsets around) I’ve long been into basking in the transition from day to night.

In Phoenix, my parent’s place has always been ten houses down from an entrance to the Phoenix Mountains Preserve — a little chain of unspoiled desert peaks — islands of nature among the suburban sea. Often, when I noticed the sun getting low, I’d slip on some shoes and go running out the front door, up the street, and climb to the top of the nearest mountains to breathe it in deep.

What always struck me was that there was hardly ever another human atop these mountains at sunset. Literally millions of people lived in all directions radiating out from the feet of those mountains. And yet, over and over again, I’d be the only one up there catching the sunset?

This baffled me. I mean, who wouldn’t want to stand atop a mountain at the end of the day and watch the sunset? With a touch of teenage angst, I’d ask myself “what’s wrong with all these people hiding in their houses?”

Sometimes, awareness swimming in the vast color-filed sky, I’d daydream about some beautiful wonder of a girl also finding herself compelled to climb up to take it all in the grand show. I’d hear some rocks clattering, turn around, and there we’d meet: on a mountaintop at sunset.

To this day, I’m enamored with sunsets and still think everyone’s crazy for not regularly climbing up somewhere with a view — a mountaintop, the roof, anywhere you can have an unobstructed view of the sky — to watch as we watch fireworks on the Fourth of July.

I currently live in a house just east of downtown Phoenix. Often, I bring friends up on the roof for sunset over the city skyline. Everyone loves it. We throw out a blanket, some pillows, and drink tea. Maybe we read some of Jack Gilbert’s Collected Poems. Most often we just talk and it’s great, as conversations during sunset naturally go deep. I wrote some of this letter on the roof at sunset tonight and snapped the photo up top a few weeks ago of 2dreamagain, a few friends, and I recording a DJ set up there at sunset. I’ve brought a dozen friends (and the band Motel Radio) to the top of the epic “Flatiron” in the Superstition Mountains east of Phoenix to watch the sunset and giant electric grid of city lights come on from 2,800ft above.

I write all this to both illustrate and ask: how much more wondrous might life be if you hunted, found, and frequented your favorite sunset spots?

Perhaps give it some thought!

With love & stoke,

Ethan

P.S. Wanna meet up and exercise the sense of wonder in communal fashion? I’ve got three ideas:

• The Festival of Yes is happening deep in the enchanted mountain forests of Washington August 2nd-4th (during the Perseid Meteor Shower). Hit reply and I just might give you the ticket password.
  

• The fifth go at WONDER WANDER, the dozen-person “experiential potluck" I host in some beautiful place far out among nature is on October 25th-30th on the border of Saguaro National Park.
  

• If you ever find yourself in Phoenix and want to have tea on my roof at sunset, reply to any Late Night Letter.

For the Curious Ones:

WONDER WANDER 2024

Once a year, I host WONDER WANDER, a multi-day gathering of curious, creative, and adventurous humans for a surreal communal experience among the natural world.

WONDER WANDER is a sort of “experiential potluck,” where each participant leads an experience. We also hike, philosophize, laugh, dance, stargaze, dive deep, and relish in this crazy experience of being with one another.

This year, October 25th to 30th, I'm hosting WONDER WANDER 2024 at No Pants Ranch on the northern border of Saguaro National Park.

Info & App >