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Originally uploaded by miss_distance

I’ve grown to love the solitude this time of year. I’ve put a lot of miles on the truck, entirely within the Badlands, and I rarely see more than 10 vehicles in an afternoon. If I’m parked on a back road, sketching or taking notes, locals and ranchers always slow down to make sure I’m not having truck problems. Yesterday, I saw a caravan — two SUVs pulling U-Haul trailers, and a follow-car (possibly containing the rest of the family). If you had to move cross-country in March, why *not* take in the Badlands? Still, it suddenly felt like rush-hour traffic, compared with the empty roads to which I’ve grown accustomed.