This past Sunday I spent four priceless hours atop Marine Headlands in San Francisco Bay mesmerized by the hues in the twilight sky fading into a star studded clear night sky over the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco.  Until I started packing up close to midnight, I had no plans of being back at that spot anytime soon.

The clear night sky though had washed my brain. It was three days to new moon and the waning 8% crescent moon was expected to rise around 2 hours before sunrise on Memorial day, Monday May 26th.  Watching the moon and sun rise within hours of each other was too tempting.

Few hours later into the night I was back on my way hiking up the incline with the occasional deer along the trail wondering why I was there disturbing the few hours of summer night that they get for themselves.  As I reached the hilltop again around 4 am in the morning, the rapid changes in skylight across the Bay over the next few hours made the early rising well worth it.

Given the light pollution from San Fransisco, I was pleasantly surprised to spot the Milky Way where I was hoping it would be - south west of the city.  Turning east, the rising  crescent moon over the East Bay seemed to be waiting for the sun to wake up.  And the sun was too happy to open its sleepy eyes pretty soon.

Sunset, twilight hues, milky way, rising moon, predawn hues and the rising sun over the breathtaking landscape of the San Fransisco Bay. That was sufficient accumulated wealth for one night. Memorial Day memorabilia.

Last Monday of May each year commemorates all those who died in military service for the United States.

Took this one just around sunset on the jogging/biking trails along the hillsides not too far from home. Had to stop for a look at that tree.