Earth: Caprock Canyon
At the base of the panhandle of Texas, red stone worn away from millions of years of erosion presents the wide western skies as a deep cobalt blue. The soil, red from oxidization of metals like iron, contrast intensely with the late afternoon horizon to create a bright difference in color.
Plateaus of stone stand warily in the background on a plane of earth, the wide expanse of Texas. South of Amarillo, the days are hot and the nights cold with a steady wind, but the clearest of skies present the luminous milky way in its full glory.
Water: Bolivar Beach, off Houston Coast
The storm systems that breech the coast of Texas in from the Gulf carry in moisture and warmth, but many areas of the state remain dry most of the year. Hurricane Harvey certainly left marks on the streets of Houston, where roads were flooded and homes lost. But the extended horizon of the coast and water, which bleeds into the flat surface on the earth on both sides, presents the tropical depressions with a sense of sublime purpose.
The small rain storms I passed were no thing as great as a hurricane, but grey and rumbling clouds racing the beach nonetheless are intense to see.
Wind: The Great Expanse of Texas
Between the prairies and deserts of Austin and Amarillo, along the stable highways that post speeds of 75 mph, are communities of steel structures. Massive windmills occupy stretches of land between gusty gaps in plateaus, and theirs numbers seem infinite. The steady winds of the great plains are suggested in the sway of the large propellers, passing time like great grandfather clocks of the sky.
The dry brush and dusty lands go on for hundreds of miles, and isolation from humans is apt, yet loneliness is not present next to these large energy-producing giants. Dotted between are oil rigs, many no longer functioning with their familiar dips, watched over by the new agents of sourcing electricity from the earth's forces.
Fire: Sunset in the West
Under the base of the Caprock Canyon range and with the campfire put out, the warm hues of the sunset behind the rocky horizon cast a comforting mood. The stars had never seemed so bright, and the millions of stars that compose the milky way seem to warm the soul as the temperature drops.
The continuously burning sun provides warmth and light to the earth, and while it may hide behind the landscape or other side of the earth, it still provides warmth and vitality. Each star is similarly luminous but so far as to only provide a fraction of light and radiation to us as the sun. Yet we still have the ability to ponder the stars, knowing they also have the potential to provide life, and with that thought the starry nights of the desert seem a little warmer.