Provincetown's Magnificent Sunset Behind the Pilgrim Monument

If you are in the right place at the right time, and if you carry a camera with you, you can capture moments like this all around Provincwtown. I happened to be walking past the corner of Ryder and Commercial Streets on this particular evening, just as a spectacular sunset was peaking in the clouds in the western sky, and just as the lights on the Pilgrim Monument were coming on. By maneuvering a little bit, and walking about ten or twelve steps in six different directions, I got this shot between the power lines and other obstacles that can sometimes muddle up an otherwise great photograph.
The Pilgrim Monument is the tallest all-granite structure in the United States, at 252 feet, 7 and 1/2 inches tall. It commemorates the Mayflower Pilgrims' first landing, which was here in Provincetown on November 11th, 1620, and not in Plymouth as most Americans were taught in school. Construction was begun in 1907 when President Theodore Roosevelt came to Provincetown for a ceremony on August 20th where he made a speech and then laid the cornerstone for the Pilgrim Monument. Upon completion of the construction three years later, President and Mrs. William H. Taft, and the entire Atlantic Fleet of the U.S. Navy, sailed into Provincetown Harbor for the dedication ceremony of the Monument on August 5th, 1910.
During World War I the Monument was used by the federal government as a lookout tower, and during World War II it is thought to have been the site of testing some secret communication equipment. The "I Am Provincetown" website has a great deal of fascinating information and stories about the building of the Pilgrim Monument, so click on this link and learn more about it.
And carry a camera with you whenever you go out!