It was 4:47. Along the road, occasional peaks were already catching the last rays of the sunset, briefly lighting up in red as the sky slowly shifted into a blue-pink-yellow gradient. I drove as fast as I could, trying to catch the scraps of daylight at Shiprock the way a man on horseback chases time itself.

By the time we turned onto Indian Service Route 13, I was fairly sure we wouldn’t make it before the sun was gone. But as the road gently curved around the back of Shiprock in the distance, I couldn’t help but slow down. The last traces of sunlight were illuminating the weeds across the endless dry land. In that moment, the destination felt less important.

It was 5:04 when we finally stood at the off-road entry to Shiprock. We got off the car and stood in the shadow of the ridges, watching the Ship Rock at the distance in silence. The sunset had lost its warmth by then, but what remained was gentle and quiet, slowly fading across the creased surfaces.

            Shot in California, New Mexico in 2025.