I have visited Bisti Badlands twice before. It has been my dream to come back to this magical place again at night. Here I was in September, with a photography friend, Yiming, from Ohio.
We made a last minute decision to camp in there for two nights. Now, the problem was that each one of us has some 20 lb of camera gear. The tent and sleep bags we had are not exactly light weight backpack type. With food and water, we had to carry another 40 lb of load. We were not equipped with the hiking gears to carry this load. Well, nothing stops two PhD’s. We experimented a couple of options, including getting a cart to roll it in. The cart idea was proven not very smart, just after 100 feet into the badland. We finally decided on the hard way, to carry a huge duffel bag by hands together.
Here we were, 3 miles of hiking under the sun, countless rest stops, and tons of sweat later. We set our tent in the heart of Bisti. When the night fell, our effort was finally reward. I am short of words to express my excitement. The picture carries all my feelings.
The sky is my blanket
John Fan Photography Blog 