I hiked out to the the rim well after midnight when the bright core of the Milky Way finally clears the far canyon wall, and stitched this from a set of eight frames so the whole arch and the background would fit in one picture. That glow on the horizon is some small town turning in for the night. Up on the basalt it was just me, and below, the river and the same sky showing up twice. Late spring is the only stretch when the galaxy arcs low like this, so you go when it is offered and try not to grumble about the hour, lost sleep, or the miles walked to get there and back. Sinker Butte Plateau above Swan Falls Dam