Never before have I been in a town with less than five-hundred people: two gas stations, two bars, and a Subway; accompanied by a mom and pop store and a hunting surplus which carried products to hunt and kill the wild animals whom are ever-present throughout this barren land with rolling hills and orange-tinged, rock mountains.
Surrounded by nature, this high desert was now a sanctuary. Sagebrush and antelope lined the long, winding roads, encompassed by the bright sun, and the dry, cracked land. Driving through these roads; they fell off the Earth and into the horizon.
Honorable Mention 2011 Teen Travel Writing Scholarship
I stand alone, listening to the willows whipping in the wind. I can hear their hollow branches clanking together in the mild wind of the evening. An eerie feeling comes over me. Standing here, all alone, with no one but the trees and the wind. Large rocks lay scattered amongst themselves. The osseous matter of a dead animal lay still in the shadows of the setting sun. The shadow of the empty carcass casts out upon the prairie land; the perfect remains of the ivory spine and rib cage, the unctuous joints still present between the vertebrae.
At night, the temperature drops and the world falls dark. Feeling as if the atmosphere is crashing down, allowing myself to become enveloped by the darkness of space. The stars, bright and shining, stand out against the black velvet of the night. An everlasting feeling of safety is about, for in a place so peaceful, no disturbance is to be found. The night is silent; nothing to be heard. Looking up at that night sky is something that could only be experienced here, here in this place.
Waking up to the stench, the sour smell of a skunk, was somewhat of a pleasure. In the city all you smell is the rough, humid air; cars, gasoline, and fresh food from the many restaurants. But here, here there was only nature. To smell the rain, sagebrush, dust, the crisp night and damp morning. These smells were unfamiliar, but extremely pleasing.
This slow-paced life, experienced at the highest of pleasure in some of the highest of places was experienced in Big Piney, Wyoming and was a break from the city. I learned to appreciate the small things in life; these small things which are not so small. It took two weeks of living with Mother Nature until I finally understood and appreciated her grandeur.
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