Life seems to sometimes take me for a ride and really the best I can do is try not to panic, remember that the answer is 42, and hold on while powers greater than myself dictate the future. I can't imagine that this place was planned, but to me this place became a work of art through thousands of years of monsoons, rain & wind storms. It's a barren an inhospitable place that becomes impassible when wet. On this trip I gained a new found respect for the mud in the southwest. In fact, an understanding, because the night before is when I got my jeep stuck in the mud 11 miles from the freeway as a thunder & lightning storm was rolling around on the horizon.
It was one of those moments where you're driving along on the dirt road and you see some mud and you think, oh there's a little water, but it should be fine. Well, in most cases, yes. In this particular place in the Southwest, you're going to get stuck.
I watched the sunset burn while I tried to frantically dig out praying that the looming thunderclouds didn't come my direction. As I night hiked out the lightning started illuminating the sky with bright flashes. If you've ever been out hiking alone in the dessert with lightning you fell like it's on top of you no matter how far away it is. The primal fear eventually subsided, and acceptance set in. I decided to sleep a few hours on this spot to capture this astronomical twilight scene. Alex Noriega was an inspiration here and deserves acknowledgement.
