One more quick photo from my recent eastbound Amtrak journey across northern Montana ... an almost-full moon over a lonesome farm in the Milk River valley, somewhere between Havre and Malta.
...an ocean of blue snow. I remember the winter nights up on the Hi-line around Shelby: absolutely serene, moon glancing off snow, stars dancing off of it when the moon was new. There was no darkness.
The nighttime in that country can be so very dramatic. Sometimes, as you said, there's really no darkness at all ... and other times, its blacker than anyone who lives in a city can possibly imagine. The power and vastness of the universe, revealed in two completely different ways ...
Exactly...Norman Maclean said it best: "Eventually all things merge into one, and a river runs through it." The entirety of existence in the fastness of a northern prairie. And a river did run through mine.
I'm a professional historian, though my real passions lie in the art of photography and the freedom of travel. Armed with camera and backpack, I've visited all fifty of the US states ... and a total of 65 countries on six continents.
Unless otherwise attributed, all text and contemporary photographs in this blog are copyrighted by the author, Mark Hufstetler. Reproduction or reuse -- either online or in print -- without written permission from the author is expressly prohibited. You're welcome to contact me for information on obtaining reprints.
It's like looking out my window...
ReplyDeleteAnd it's gorgeous, isn't it? :)
ReplyDelete...an ocean of blue snow. I remember the winter nights up on the Hi-line around Shelby: absolutely serene, moon glancing off snow, stars dancing off of it when the moon was new. There was no darkness.
ReplyDeleteThe nighttime in that country can be so very dramatic. Sometimes, as you said, there's really no darkness at all ... and other times, its blacker than anyone who lives in a city can possibly imagine. The power and vastness of the universe, revealed in two completely different ways ...
ReplyDeleteExactly...Norman Maclean said it best: "Eventually all things merge into one, and a river runs through it." The entirety of existence in the fastness of a northern prairie. And a river did run through mine.
ReplyDelete