Broken Bad

Broken bad land that is. As we took our last little exploratory hike the morning we were leaving Badlands National Park, I focused my view on the land itself. Without looking into it, I suppose that although this is very rugged terrain, part of the reason for the "Badlands" label is the ground.

So hard. So cracked. So inhospitable. Also though, so beautiful.

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If you've been reading for a while you know that I love natural textures, and you can't get more textural than this ground.

I was surprised by the variety -- at first glance it all looks the same (like cracked mud). When you really look though there are so many differences: flats, clumps, bumps, ribbons of smooth, subtle color changes. Really quite beautiful!

Enjoy!

I wonder what this area looks like after a rain... do the cracks go away, with everything becoming smooth? I'd like to see that!

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