Sunrise 152: Ault Park (Clear Daybreak; Pavilion Sunrise)

Late twilight above the Little Miami River Valley, a day before Day Light Savings ends.

A chilly morning in Ault Park

I woke up to another crisp, cold, & clear winter sky for Sunrise 152. I was up a bit late last night and so I chose to perform a recent ritual that I learned about, one that apparently native americans used to practice. Namely, drinking a full pint (or more) of water just before going to bed. That may sound like a recipe for disaster but luckily I don’t have a history of bladder control issues ;). It worked – I was up this morning and out the door by 6:30am.

It was really cold this morning. Normally this would be expected due to the fact that it’s still winter, but our recent warm streak has made me spoiled. I wore an off kilter hybrid of spring and winter gear – running shorts and thick gloves, with no face mask. It wasn’t too bad during the 22F twilight ride, except for the dive down the Observatory Rd hill that felt like dipping my face in an ice bath. The cold certainly woke me up, however… I didn’t grab any coffee and practically sprinted back up that hill.

Unfortunately DST starts tomorrow which means we’re back to 8:00am sunrises. Darn!

This morning’s sunrise had a nice magenta display that I witnessed on the ride up to the park. By the time I arrived the pink had mostly faded, unfortunately, and was replaced with a soft orange palette. Still not much cloud action in the air, a trend I hope to see pick up as we move into the dynamic weather of spring.

Heading through East Hyde Park, the sun is rising almost perfectly aligned with this section of Erie Ave. Curiously enough, this section of the road seems to be parallel to the alignment of the Ault Park Pavilion. This doesn’t bode well for the “purpose” behind Ault Park’s design, suggesting perhaps it’s a simple “Due East” alignment…

After climbing one of the residential hills, I looked behind me and saw a beautiful magenta horizon. The colors were quickly beginning to fade.

As I approached the park I decided to get a picture from the same perspective as a picture I took during the most recent overcast Sunrise 151. Isn’t it interesting how much the picture changes when you add a backlight? The following picture was taken earlier in the morning but under an overcast sky.

The beautiful century tree next to the pavilion. I often wonder if this tree had a symmetrical brother on the left side of the pavilion. Given the symmetry of the park’s design my gut tells me yes. What a sad loss for the park it must have been when this hypothetical tree died.

Ten minutes before sunrise, we can already see the light aurora forming in the Eastern Sky.

I wanted a vertical shot but didn’t want just an empty sky… this was the compromise.

Back at the pavilion I check the sunrise alignment. Approaching the center of the pavilion, but we still have a week or so before true alignment. I hope I don’t miss it!

In the Western Sky the almost-full-moon reflects back the morning sunlight.

As first light approached, I noticed the residential towers on the far western ridge line. You can’t quite see it in this picture, but the top row of windows were reflecting the tip of the sun that was just beginning to peak across the horizon.

The roof of the pavilion was closed for maintenance so I had to make due at the base of the building. First Light @ Sunrise 152!