Time

it took me years

to realize
fastest
isn't always best

every minute counts

Celestial Chicken

The Moon

impatient with The Sun's sedateness
rockets past the horizon
full and burnt
reflecting the fire's afterglow
an hour before full dark
it rises
overeager

Badlands Poems

The Oryx
Animals
do not bemoan or yearn

they have no opinion

on life or death

they simply live

until they die

perhaps they have the right of it.

Wind

Buffeting gusts

exfoliate my face

with grit

Nature's facial scrub.

Lone Coyot

Brown-red

turns to

gray-white

with Autumn's end

in sight.

Ram-of-Way

They are unconcerned

with roads, traffic

or the leering, drooling,

instagraming motorists

their only thought

is grass.

Badlands Sunrise

Got up early to watch the sunrise then did some morning hiking before relaxing in the afternoon. Tomorrow Yellowstone.

The Big Open

The land was there before us
and it will be there long after

we render ourselves to dust

to fertilize the dirt

the land renewed

this is not speculation

but history

which stretches long

and repeats itself

knowing this

it is best

to pay proper fealty.

Road Trip: Badlands

With the time we had originally slotted for our honeymoon we're taking a road trip to tour some national parks. First stop is the Badlands. The plan is to hike and eat Cliff bars and PB&J's and generally unplug. So far so good!

Badlands Haiku 2

The End Of Trail

when exploration ceases.

Why can't I go on?

Sunsets #8

 Madison 9/26/15

Badlands 9/30/15

Reflections

We're back in Chicago and have had some time to decompress. The trip was a real success. We visited some family, saw a lot of interesting and weird roadside attractions, emersed ourselves in nature, and rode a sometimes majestic sometimes demanding 1,500 miles on the motorcycle. 

The main challenge that Nicole and I faced on the trip was the physically demanding nature of some of the stuff we were doing. Riding for long stretches of time, wind, cold, and varied hiking terrain. This, of course, effected our moods from time to time. What we did to head off any issues was just checking in with each other frequently. Stopping when we needed a snack or a hot drink, relaxing or napping if we needed it, staying connected and on the same page. We did some real relationship work and made some substantial progress. There were moments that really tested us and I think we came out of the whole experience a lot stronger as a couple, as partners. The two keys were communication and patience.

On the motorcycle the world is different. Time has less meaning. Your perception is heightened and you see a lot more. There are no distractions. You are simply there in that moment, wherever you happen to be. The weather and temperature are of utmost importance. You are in touch with your body and the landscape in a much more direct and meaningful way. The experience is unique and inspiring. But can be draining.

Coming back we weren't exactly relaxed or well rested. It took us a couple days to bounce back and now after some reflection I think both of us can say the trip was amazing. Something we won't ever forget, but something we might plan out more rigorously next time.

Badlands 2

Surrounded
by monoliths
of a prehistoric ocean
and volcanic ash aged millennia,
the silence spreads for miles.

It is easy to remember
when man was sparse
and feeble.

All is grass
and scarred butte
forever.

Proof, if such exists, of the Divine.

Badlands 1

All nerves scream
"I am alive!"
and the gods smile
on their creations
in mutual
appreciation.

Badlands Haiku

Alien crags jut

skyward- remote, desolate,

and strange. Outside time.

Hiking & Sunset

Today we spent all day in the park hiking around. There's only a handful of marked trails that you can do over the course of a day, the rest are longer stretches that would necessitate camping.

It was warm and for the most part sunny, a nice change from the overcast/partly cloudy we've been dealing with over the past couple days.

Tomorrow we start our ride back to Chicago. It seemed a fitting end. Sitting on the wind swept buttes watching the sunset. Pictures can't do the beauty justice, neither can words.

Badlands & Wall Drug

After a good day of riding yesterday we encountered some rain about 40 minutes outside The Badlands. We waited for almost an hour under an overpass but the rain showed no signs of letting up so we took the last chunk in two very wet and trying legs. It may have been some of the most difficult riding I have ever done and I couldn't have done it without Nicole's support and encouragement. We arrived in the evening, checked into our cabin, dried off, and luxuriated under the powerful heater. Today was our first full day in the park.

We rode through the park on our way to Wall Drug and stopped a couple times to take pictures and soak it all in.

I've been to The Badlands twice before and it is my favorite place in the US.

I was eager to share it with Nicole and slowly cruising through the park was great.

Wall Drug is one of the kitch capitols of the country. Animatronic cowboy bands, weird statues, historical western tableaus, lots and lots of shops, nickle coffee, and free ice water. Advertised for hundreds of miles around.

We headed back to the park after we had lunch and did some shopping. Nicole had a buffalo dog.

In the evening I took Nicole to my favorite trials in the park which takes you up the Badlands wall, from the lower plains to the upper.

We got to the top while the sun was setting. The silence, the stillness, was profound. The light and the grass were the only things moving. The size and the majesty of it all was daunting but comforting too. As if we had been welcomed into some joyful and sacred secret.