This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Those who spend any amount of time in the outdoors remember signature moments that are impossible to forget.

I had one such moment a few years ago while camped at Dead Horse Point State Park.

The skies there are almost always dark and beautiful and, as night fell, we noticed some dancing lights in the north.

I knew it was possible to see the northern lights in southern Utah on rare occasions, having seen them once before near Escalante and doing a story with Utah State University scientists on why they occasionally can be viewed this far south.

On this night, we drove away from the lights of the campground and spend an hour or so watching the colorful lights dance in the sky, thrilled with nature's show.

I thought about this night recently when the Division of Parks and Recreation announced that Dead Horse Point Park has been designated as an International Dark Sky Park.

In order to get recognized by the International Dark Sky Park Association, the park needed to prove how it protects natural darkness and efforts to educate residents and visitors on their commitment to protecting natural darkness and working on community lighting projects,

State Park officials also work closely with nearby Arches and Canyonlands National Park Night Sky Rangers.

As someone who experienced the beauty of the wild night skies at Dead Horse Point, it's nice to see that commitment.