Purple mountain

15Oct2015
At sunset this range of mountains took on a decidedly purple tone. I’m not so sure there are many fruited plains nearby but I definitely thought of the lyrics to America the Beautiful watching this scene unfold. 
The words were first written in 1893 by English professor Katharine Bates as a poem inspired by a trip culminating in Pikes Peak. Though the Appalachian mountains may lack the grandeur of the taller western peaks I think they have quite a bit of purple majesty.
Scientifically as the sun sets the red light from the sun combines with scattered blue light from the sky. So when they are mixed together for a brief time the light can fall on mountains as a purplish glow. Definitely for this mountain sunset I felt appreciative for the beauty of this part of America!