I needed a place to watch the sunrise. Charlene and I have never seen the sun rise into the sky in our adventures.
We decided that this was going to be the year that we would finally venture to Alaska. Delay after delay (all brought about by the unnecessary restrictions of COVID-19) stopped us from going. Then I said, “Let’s go. Why are we waiting anymore?”
So it was decided.
Now I had to do the planning.
On the first day of our travel, I figured we would be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. A very early rise with the goal to cover as much distance as possible, but it would be uncomfortable to drive non-stop and not enjoy what we are passing by.
I knew I wanted to get up early. I know plenty of sunset places, but I never searched for a sunrise location. I would find one where the website talks about this spot being ideal for watching the sun wake from its nightly slumber. High Rock Lookout would become the first stop on the itinerary.
I researched the time of sunrise for that morning, and working backwards; I figured that we needed to wake at 1:45 AM. Our travel time would have us arrive at dawn, and we could watch this daily feat that the sun makes.
July 1st came. This day was the opening of our Alaskan journey. The car was packed, and Charlene and I were ready to go. We would arrive at the designated time, but something was off.
Where was the sun?
At first, I was very concerned about the weather. All week it was saying that the location was expecting rain when we were to arrive. And then there was the smoke. Canada, in the year 2023, experienced its largest-ever forest fire season. At the time of this post, ten times the average amount of forests had already burned. The smoke was even reaching Europe. The pictures that I took showed the haze caused by the smoke.
But it was neither of these. We were missing the sunrise because of a hill. The sun was behind this hill, and much of what we wanted to see was blocked by it. The source I read should have said that the best sunrises happen in the spring and fall, not summer.
Either way, the site is a beautiful one. Peaceful, quiet, with few people (especially at 6:00 AM), featured a monument to a local poet who earned some acclaim in Canadian literary history.
When we left, we did travel alongside the lake and found a spot that showed the sun beautifully. Sadly, the pic fails to depict this.
- High Rock Lookout is a free site to visit.
- There is ample roadside parking and limited parking inside the park.
- There is an outhouse.
- A trail was seen, but we did not follow it.
- To find this and all the other locations we have visited, check out Featured Map for directions on how to get here.
- We spent only 15 minutes here. This would make a perfect rest stop on a larger trip like our trip to Alaska (Map here).
