Week 1: The Badlands

It appears that the cross country road trip to California is a very inspiring time for many of us, because I felt compelled to write about my experience as well! One of the best parts about driving West is that we were able to drive into the sunset every night for two weeks, so there were many breathtaking moments to choose from. This picture is of the sky when we stopped in the Badlands of South Dakota at around 7pm. With the sun low in the sky, we were able to see this side lighting against the cotton candy clouds, creating the ethereal image you see here. Immediately, I just had to quote The Lion King, "Simba, You must take your place in the circle of life..." If only I could have James Earl Jones giving me life advice in the form of a cloud. "Jessie, go to UC Irvine, take a lighting class..." Anyway, the dream-like quality of the image is inspiring in many ways, from the highlighted contours of the clouds to the memory it created for me. And oddly enough, only 15 minutes later, we saw a lightning storm in the distance, exactly in the place of our next camping destination. I think somebody pissed off Mufasa.