The Washington Monument at Dawn

 

The Washington Monument and the reflecting pool as seen from the Lincoln Memorial, about 10 minutes before sunrise.

 

One of the great things about living in the D.C. area is you can go see the monuments any time you want.  All too often, however, we forget about them. This morning I decided to take advantage of my location and go see the Washington Monument at sunrise.

The base of the Washington Monument at dawn

 

I got there early, which was a good thing since many of the roads were closed.  I didn't realize it at the time, but this morning was also the Army 10 miler.

The Washington Monument at dawn

You would think that going before sunrise there would be no one else around, but there were a few other people that had gotten there even earlier than me (it was also the day the full moon sets directly behind the Lincoln Memorial so I am sure there were some people there for that).  If you look closely you can see a couple of people leaning against the flag poles at the base of the monument.

The Washington Monument and the reflecting pool at sunrise

The Lincoln Memorial was even more crowded with people watching the sunrise from the steps. Finally, the sun rose, making it's way among the buildings to the right of me (that is south-east if you are curious).