Leaving Badlands (for now)

Friday June 15, 2012

Got up, ready, and packed the car by about 8am. Had said goodbye to Ed earlier since he starts work at 7. Met up with Ryan, Amanda, John, and Tricia at the Budget Host for breakfast where they serve endless sourdough pancakes made with a starter that is well over 100 years old. Terrifically yummy. It was hard, but we said our goodbyes to these guys and headed back to the quad area for one last hike, this time in the buttes behind the quad where I did a lot of hikes during my residency. I wanted to get some photographs with the green grass. Wish I had more time and the luxury of waiting to have decent light for photographing. Made one last stop to the visitors center for water and the bathroom. Ran into ranger Sara, it was her last day at the park as well; she's taken an exciting new job at Walnut Creek National Monument in Flagstaff. Will have to manage to go visit her someday. Drove out of the park, hit I-90, and started cruising east. Made it into Minneapolis by 7:30pm local time. Have a few days here, then I fly to NYC to spend a week. Hoping to meet up with some Calhoun folks while there. Sounds like they may be back to the Badlands in the spring, and possibly it will work for me to join them again. My fingers are crossed!

Many of you know how attached I get to places, and I have talked about it often over the years. This is my main motivation in painting landscapes. Places are like friends, and some hit harder than others. It is always hard to say goodbye to the places I love, and it doesn't seem to make much difference whether or not I know I'm coming back. I expected to fall a bit in love with the Badlands before coming for my residency in March. I did not expect to fall as hard as I did with this landscape. Something about it is just plain magical. I have hiked a lot of places, but nothing lives up to the feeling I have when hiking and scrambling on those buttes, eyes open for fossils, feet working to grip the loose rock. It is one of my favorite few spots to be, and driving back to the park on hwy 44 last week felt like driving home. It's a lovely thing, but it sure leaves me feeling wrought over leaving. Add to that the unexpected meeting of several new, good friends, and my experience in Badlands is elevated to be right in there with my time in Europe as a teen, which was something of a life changing event. I think I have learned a lot about myself in the Badlands, and certainly have a lot to digest from the experiences here. More than anything I want to be painting Badlands right now, lost in the experience, living the feelings. But I'm traveling, and have more adventures to come before I can settle into the studio again in July to work.  In just a few days I head to NYC for a week, then Minneapolis for a week, then a drive back to Coeur d'Alene, possibly stopping in Yellowstone and/or other parks along the way.  I'll be sure to post about some of it!

Angel Butte from behind the quad.
Last hike: had to come back here while the grasses are green.