A close-up of the Hondu Arch, rising above the Muddy Creek encampment in the San Rafael Swell in Utah.

Imagine that you're sitting below the Arch, around a campfire after dinner with ten other people, the first night in camp. Eleven horses feed quietly on alfalfa nearby.

Imagine that the sun has set and that Venus is visible in the night sky above the left side of the Arch. The planet's trajectory dips it behind the stone for several minutes; Venus suddenly reappears, glowing like a candle carefully centered. You exclaim and everyone turns to marvel at the rare astronomical alignment that lingers ever so briefly.

A waxing gibbous moon rises over Tomsich Butte behind you.

Stars come out.

Still later, a lone owl will call.