We were travelling through the badlands. I was travelling through my mind: visions of bleak red landscapes inhabited by bronzed Ogala, some in buckskin and beads, their chiefs resplendent in long feathered head-dresses. In a squint, tiny men in blue galloped on horse-back, sabres drawn and bugles sounding, lost in ochre canyons and dwarfed by giant bluffs: The mental bric-a-brac of a very small child. (scroll down to blood red skies)
The reality was just, well….empty; hills and canyons a glare of gold beneath an unrelenting sun. We took photographs, walked some way in a narrow gulley, realised how easy one could become quickly and hideously lost in the complex twists and turns or ancient rock, how quiet it was, how dry.
We travelled a bit farther on and I walked on prairie, pushing through grass. It was pale green and wiry, and stretched forever. I was here – in the west – the dream of a very small boy come true and yet, somehow it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t 1850. . . or 1700. I was trapped in a twentieth century time-line and there was nothing I could do about it, except day-dream and write.
6 comments:
The Badlands is such an unimaginable place. Beautiful yet terrifying as well.
I can only imagine pioneers trekking into an oblivion just to reach their final destination.
It took a lot of guts. Braver people than me.
Courage is only one element: desperation, greed, and that most enduring of human qualities - blind curiosity
I've just arrived via Maria's blog party and will definitely be back. What an adventure!
I used to get in the car and just go until I got bored and tired. I love trekking. Right now family obligations have me anchored firmly (with battleship chains), so my adventuring will be virtual for a while. Thanks for the trip.
Terri
www.whyifearclowns.com
Terri, thanks for passing through, speaking of which, do I pass anywhere near where you live? I'll check your blog and find out :)
We didn't get to The Badlands when we visited South Dakota. Maybe next time. Our ancestors were very brave traveling through all sorts of terrain to get to a better life. I'm in New Zealand, but we have our pioneers down this way too.
Thanks for calling in Shelley. There were pioneers in Australia and New Zealand, I know - only no comics ever glamourised them like America.
It's pretty humbling when you sit back and think of sacrifices made by others - that's assuming their motives were all worthy. Where else have your been in America? Did our paths ever cross other than in South Dakota?
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