Thanks, Leah!

here's a few found objects from my most recent travels.

the first two photographs are from a mini expedition in the sleeping bear sand dunes. there were four of us traveling, Diana, Erin, Sarah and myself. we were on our second adventure for the day- three of us reluctantly so, and the other determined to make the most of this incredible place. we set off on our dune passage, the sand scouring our skin as it blew against our barely exposed flesh. grateful for my large sunglasses, i carefully pulled out my camera and began to snap pictures in the sand. a tiny blade of dune grass poked above the surface. the blade moved like a compass, engraving a perfect circle in the sand.

we climbed over summit and came upon a ghost forest (pic 1). it looked like a place you might land if you fell off of jabba the hut's space craft. we imagined the creatures that possibly lay beneath our feet. at one point diana and i became separated from Erin and Sarah, caught up in our own storytelling. by the time that we caught up to them, their footprints had somehow transformed into the shape of an elephant (pic 2).

we later made it to a place where water had carved out a valley in the dune. in its dampness, the sand looked like rocks. i jumped down onto what i thought was slickrock, but then i ran my hands across the surface and realized once again that i was in a very foreign place.

the next photograph is from the badlands. i traveled there with my brother in early May. justin and i were very aware of the soils, which were very clay-like. (When you step into it, your shoes like to stay behind.)  In the sun it forms a crispy top layer. Sometimes it dries so much that it cracks from the tension and peels into itself like a Chinese fortune fish (pic 3). at one point we realized that unlike a hike in the mountains, the prairie has no summit, no amazing view from the top, but rather an amazing view from every single step. so we stopped and sat on the ridge, just gazing around. my brother and i shared a banana, saving it from a sticky, hot, and sugar spotted fate. it tasted great. we were so happy to be there that we decided to take a picture (pic 4). taking a picture in the prairie is no simple task, but we managed to make it happen.

the last two photographs were from Custer State Park in South Dakota. What an amazing state! if i were to name my top 3 favorite corners of states, they would be 1) SW South Dakota 2)SW Utah and 3) NW Northern California in no particular order.

Justin and I were on another prairie adventure, this time in bison country. We were taking a quick, 4 mile loop trail en-route to the the wind caves. it was expansive and breathtaking all at once. the bison were so far away, they looked like little brown clouds or moving juniper bushes. so imagine our surprise, when we entered the ponderosa pine forest that we weren't quite alone. i had hopped down onto the trail, and spooked a bison who reared his ENORMOUS (250 pound) head. He began to run, but he was so large that I couldn't tell if he was coming at me or running away from me. i followed my instincts and ran screaming up the hill for my life (precisely the opposite of bison encounter etiquette) my brother stood there, looking at me, not realizing the potential gravity of the situation. but like me, the bison was very scared and was running as fast as he could down the steep hill. I could only wonder one thing.

Where there is one, could there be more? (imagine a cascade of bison coming over the crest of the ridge)

He ran and ran, crashing into trees, unable to stop for the sheer momentum of his own weight (pic 5). And at the bottom of his ride, he left me behind a present (pic 6).

i was ready to turn back, but my brother put his hand on my shoulder and said, "I think we should go on. I think this is what we're supposed to do."  This was a scary proposition but worthy of consideration. Knowing that my brother would not sacrifice me for the sake of his machismo, I trusted his judgment. We walked down the hillside carefully and quietly, finding the bison hair and the prairie pie along the way. and then, there he was- standing in the meadow and chewing his cud about 10 feet away from the trail. we carefully skirted around the meadow in a dry river bed, perspiring profusely. from that point forward, each of my steps were simultaneously exhilarating and frightening. the adrenaline was coursing through my veins like it never had before. everything looked like a bison- the rocks, the bushes, the logs, a shadow. it was rather humbling. i'll never forget the way i felt that day.

--it must be noted that I had just enjoyed a delectable, bison burger before this particular adventure began.--