Showstopper Sunset Snowshoe Hike

Tahoe has an abundance of incredible sunsets. A lot of them seem to occur during the winter months. And tonight's was beautiful. Maybe not THE most beautiful sunset, but the colors just lasted and lasted.

I almost wasn't going to go out this afternoon. In my head, I was balancing my weekend to-do list against "doing something fun" and getting outdoors. Plus, did I really have the energy to go snowshoeing? After all, I had already done an online yoga session this morning -- which I needed so badly -- so I kind of felt like I already got my exercise in for the day. And I hadn't eaten lunch yet.

Then there's the fact that I sewed a button on my gray hiking pants. And I gave my husband a supremely high-quality haircut in the garage. And I made breakfast. So, a pretty full and exhausting day so far.

Should I really distract myself further from the rest of my to-do list?

I message my husband.

"Have you left yet?"

I look out the window and see the Jeep halfway down the driveway. I run upstairs and put my outdoor layers on. I run downstairs and put on my snowpants, boots, and choppers. I run outside and jump in the Jeep. Off we go.

The groomed trail was in decent shape today. We ventured out on a new-to-us loop, I on snowshoes and my husband on cross-country skis. We got kind of a late start, so we hustled a little bit so we could make it out before dark. As we began rounding the final loop, navigating back toward the car, I noticed the sky through the trees. It was turning a bright and brilliant orange. I knew it was going to be a good sunset.

I started hiking faster, hoping I could get to a place with an opening and a clearer shot of the sunset.

As I was hiking at a good clip, I couldn't believe how long the colors were lasting tonight. Cars were stopping on the the highway as they came around the corner, some were pulling off to take it in. I guess that qualifies it as a showstopper. I'm glad I decided to go out at the last minute!