Badlands Residency Day 54

April 29, 2014 Jessica L. Bryant

A chilly, blustery day today: much rain, high winds, occasional sleet. This morning I attended the funeral for a girl whom I had the privilege of teaching during my first residency here. I remember her well, and am heartbroken for her family and friends. I spent the afternoon on a melancholy, though enjoyable, solo drive through the park, stopping frequently, and facing the high winds and driving rain to get photographs of the magnificent colors. Moisture brings out, and sometimes alters, the coloring of the buttes, rewarding the visitors who brave the park in unpleasant weather. Between episodes of photographing, I had to sit in my car to defrost my fingers. As entertainment, I played with Instagram and loaded a bunch of photos there. I'll include them below as well. For a late dinner I went to the Wagon Wheel with some friends, and more people showed up. There was a card game going at one table, and a handful of the rest of us played a game of darts. After trailing for the first few turns, I threw three consecutive bullseyes, eliciting groans and disparaging comments from my buddies. It was close, but I managed to win in the end, throwing a single dart for the one number I needed. Aside from the darts game, we were all a bit mopey, and decided to do a Wii fitness challenge to end the night with a little energy. I am most certainly not a video game person: I stink at everything, probably largely because I didn't play as a kid. New to Wii, I didn't know what I was doing. After your challenge it tells you your fitness age. Apparently my Wii skills place me at 52 years old. There's nothing wrong with being 52, unless it's a couple decades too early. Sheesh.