Photograph and text by Alexandra Hay
From the May 2023 issue

This photograph was taken on the walk back over the Indian River Inlet Bridge at Delaware Seashore State Park on Jan. 1. Ordinarily, we’d do a walk like this earlier in the day, but the park held its First Day Hike later, for the sunset, which was stunning. 

It kept getting more colorful after the sun was down, so I kept taking photos on the walk back across the bridge. I like using the iPhone’s panorama mode; people usually think I’m taking a video, but it’s almost always a pano, and this is one of my favorites. The lines of the bridge cables, the open road (I got very lucky that there were no cars on my first attempt!), and the colorful sky (plus my dad in the red jacket and my sister next to him, on the right) made the scene feel especially expansive — perfect for New Year’s Day.