The hours around dusk and dawn are magical ones. This is when the fading rays of sunlight ignite colors of the sandstone or bring illumination to the desert in the pre-dawn hours. This is when shadows are longest and seem to stretch effortlessly across the landscape. These hours also border on quiet, as hikers return to town or campsites and the trails empty out.

If you’re a photographer, these are the hours you want to be out, patiently waiting for dusk to descend or dawn to arise. You wait through the first rays of sunset arcing into the evening sky until darkness descends because you know the light may make a sudden return and create once-in-a-lifetime imagery.

If you’re a wildlife enthusiast, you know this is the time of day when daylight-active species return to roosts or settle on nests for the evening shift. You know that nocturnal species are just gearing up, getting ready to forage or to hunt; maybe they are already on the prowl, like a bobcat in the reeds, and your patience may be rewarded.

If you’re a stargazer, you know that these hours are the bookends to your nighttime star watching. With so many areas designated as Dark Sky Parks or Towns, the crystalline night skies are a beauty to behold. Just ask any city dweller whose homeland is bathed in light pollution and who’s constellations may be hidden by the glare of civilization. You know that spending time beneath a chandelier of stars, whose brilliance is only dimmed by cloud cover, is a night well spent.

If you’re a hiker, you know that during these hours around dusk and dawn you might have the trail all to yourself. Gone are the day hikers, those who travel only in the daylight hours between breakfast and dinner, for they may suffer from an irrational fear of the dark. You know that there is still plenty of light to navigate the trails in these magical hours. Maybe you pack a headlamp for illuminating the trail’s uneven terrain or to catch a glimpse of some desert creature stirring. Perhaps, you hike best by moonlight, enjoying the scents and sounds, another mystical time to walk on the desert.

Maybe you’re a boater, paddling the sinuous curves of some desert river, letting the river set your pace. You know that these magical hours are when the mule deer or bighorn sheep come down to the water’s edge for a drink or when you might catch a river otter hauling out on the bank, a freshly-caught fish in its mouth. You know that the canyon walls glow and that the calm backwaters or flatwater stretches act as mirrors reflecting this canyon glow. You know that the commercial companies are off the river, the water fights and gleeful shouts of passengers are fading memories, and prepare yourself to enjoy the quiet and stillness to envelope you.

Maybe you’re a four-wheeler or a mountain biker out to catch the last drop of the day before heading your ride for home. You know that the traffic will be light, the speed slower, the dust more settled.

If you’re a desert explorer, you know that some of the most rewarding experiences happen when you least expect them. Take advantage of these opportunities which often happen during the magical hours, and let Canyon Country seep into your soul, to sustain you until your next adventure.