Dark Magic...

Why do we fear the dark? Does God fear the dark?

"...This is a world you'll never understand. And you always fear what you don't understand. "

- Quoted from Batman Begins
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I'm posting this picture out of sequence with my trip log, but I figure who really cares? Maybe tomorrow I'll throw on a picture from Italy, I don't know. In any case, this shot is taken in Badlands National Park. At the South end of the Northern Unit is a small and secluded little campground. It is very remote. A few other campers were there, but it almost seemed as though I was all by myself. I was out shooting pictures when the storm rolled in right before dark. The wind kicked up and rolled across the tall grasses. As I stood out there in the middle of the field with the tall grasses all around me, it felt strange. Between the wind gusts, it was perfectly still. The prairie dogs disappeared, and it was as if the mountain was bidding everything to be still for the approaching storm. In the distance, the lightening bolts lit up the sky. It was menacing and scary, yet it was calm and serene, in it all there seemed a strange sort of darkness. I felt completely alone, and for that moment, it felt good. Just me and the Badlands.

I went to sleep that night in the truck with a sort of calm serenity about me. During the night, it rain and rained. I remember stirring enough to realize that it was raining. In the morning, the sun came out and it was beautiful. It had rained a lot, and the river nearby was swollen. The clay mud caked up on my shoes as I walked around. The dry grasses were heavily laden with water droplets. I packed up and left, marking it down as one of my favorite stops on the trip.