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Night now, so that is the moon. It just cleared the anvil from storms in Nebraska. I'm back at my, up to this point, favorite place. There was a lot of twilight light still left, helping illuminate the landscape.
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I wanted tail lights only but couldn't get them. As it got darker and darker I wondered how much I'd want to continue shooting. Traffic was now rather infrequent.
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Same location, looking up the road. This goes up to Pinnacles Overlook and has a pretty nasty switchback. I do not get why there is no guardrail on any of this, but especially that one corner. Wood and metal that expensive up here? Maybe I am missing something, but you look rather dead if you don't make that corner. It was bad enough during the day, but at night now, with the full moon giving you just enough of an idea what is out there....well I was very much in the inside lane going up. I now know what hell is. If you go to hell, there's a car there for you, some freezing rain, and that road. To get to heaven you have to drive down the road, but you just slide off, die and go to hell again...for infinity.
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The full moon light on things was pretty cool. It was mostly killing the stars though. Not sure how I got them to show this well in this one. I guess because the only decent view of them was straight up. Twilight seemed to trail off forever up here.
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This is likely the last vehicle I saw go by(I bumped the cam or the focus was off, as this one is not at all sharp). It was just me and the Badlands now....I wish! It was me and every strange critter in the Badlands now. At first I heard some kind of barking. Didn't sound like normal barking though, or maybe even barking at all. Could have been some bird noise for all I know. If bird dogs did exist, it sounded like one of those barking that it was coming for you. It was just east of me somewhere, whatever it was. I continued to do longer exposures, from my car seat when possible. Then all that ruckus stopped. It wasn't long and I wished it was back. I am paranoid about killing my car battery, since the last year it's seemed rather easy to do so, so I won't run the radio when the car is off. The beeper thing is screwed up, so the key has to be turned forward to not get the rapid dinging noise. That forward turn makes more crap run, which kills the battery. But if I have the key turned back, well half the time I get a rapid ding, even though the doors are shut. So, I sit there with the car off and notice the silence. It simply does not get any more silent. It was beginning to drive me nuts. Zero sound from cars anywhere, not a critter noise at all.....nothing. It's not fun to do long exposures in that. I'd sing "la la la la" just to give my ears at least something to chew on. But in doing so I feared attracting a coyote or some other hungry beast looking for midnight dinner. A prairie dog swarm could suck I imagine. Early on Conata road they were a talkin! That in and of itself was a little freaky.
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My attempt at full moon, moisture laden air, wash out star trails. Next trip there will be without the moon. I also need a new cable release anyway! The cats chewed on the one I have. It now stops any ol time it wants. It's sooooooo freaking annoying. Sometimes it gives you 10 seconds, other times 5 minutes. More than 10 seemed impossible. Nothing bumps it either. It just stops when it wants. Thanks kitties!
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This spot is not far from hell, the switchback. It's looking northeast I think. Man, thinking more about that one corner. I feel for all the kids taking vacation with grandma and grandpa. Maybe that is hell. "Here comes that corner Jimmy". "Nooooooo!"
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It's now getting pretty late. Probably 1:30 a.m. I had noticed dew on my car earlier, but never thought about fog(as I've said before, I'm a genius....especially considering I JUST spelled check genius). As I head back up to the Pinnacles Overlook I see the moon-lit fog in the valley. I quickly realize, crap, I need to be here for sunrise(the fog). What time is sunrise? 5:05! There's more. I needed a room, so during the evening I googled Wall SD motels. I see the Super 8 and quickly remember the $108 I paid for one in Spearfish SD last year. I figured, hell, it's just as touristy here, it'll be $100 too. I look online and it says they are full. I see Econolodge and figure, hey that will work. I call. $108 after tax! I'm like fine, whatever, and book it for the night. They put my key in the box since they don't man it after 11, and said they'd charge the card after some certain time. So I'm now here at 1:30 a.m. realizing I likely need to be here all night long to get the sunrise and pre-sunrise scenes. But, I have a freaking $108 room! I did the math and figured I could probably get in 2 hours of sleep if I went back now($54/hour). So I did, and that is what I got, 2 rather crappy hours of sort of sleep. It never works when you know you have to fall asleep fast.
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I didn't like having to leave the moon-lit fog I now had forming, but knew I could not just stay out here the next few short hours after paying for that room. I thought I could get up at 4, be back here by 4:30 for pre-sunrise twilight shots and be back to the motel after it all by 7:30 and sleep till the 11 check out. I will say this, it takes some serious photography desires to set an alarm for 2 hours later and get up for it and still go out. That or just mental illness. After the chase season I've had, I shouldn't be so determined and ready to go still, but I am. I swear though, it's often those times you really do something your body doesn't want you to, that something special and crazy happens, and you get to witness it. I'm soooo glad I actually got up at 4 a.m. after my 2 a.m. sleep time. Had I not, well I wouldn't not have seen the "fog storm".
Continue to the next part of this Badlands Trip - The Sunrise |
