On Sunday evening, we happened to see the Space-X Launch from the edge of the McDowell Mountain Ranch Golf Club. We set out on a stroll with our dog, who’s been begging for evening walks for months, and after the monsoon storms, the weather finally cooperated. We were expecting a quiet desert sunset. Camelback Mountain was bathed in fading pinks and purples, and the lights of Scottsdale were just beginning to flicker on. Then, the trail of the SpaceX launch suddenly appeared above the horizon.
At first, it looked like a glowing streak, out of place against the calm twilight. The rocket’s plume expanded into a shimmering cloud, lit brilliantly by the last rays of the sun far above. We were an impromptu audience to a cosmic performance.
Watching from McDowell Mountain Ranch made the moment feel even more striking. It was fascinating that a rocket launched from central California (between Los Angles and San Franciso) could be seen so vividly in the Phoenix area. Court, the pilot, pointed out, “It’s a lot higher than it seems to be,” while explaining why you can see it from so far away. We always joke about the skies in Arizona being “clear to the coast,” and they really must have been last night! He also pointed out the moment when you could see the rocket leaving the atmosphere. It was pretty stunning. The contrast between the familiar desert landscape—the saguaros, the ridges, the familiar outline of the clubhouse—and the futuristic rocket arcing high above us was surreal. For a few minutes we were united in quiet awe.
The spectacle was fleeting; in less than ten minutes, the plume faded, leaving only a faint trace against the darkening sky. The SpaceX launch had turned an ordinary Sunday evening into something extraordinary, and I felt grateful to have witnessed it from such a beautiful spot in the McDowell Mountains.
