The badlands
Have you ever stood so close to a river bank, or perhaps the edge of a drop-off of some sort and then watched as the ground beneath you seems to just crack and fall away? In an instant that 'firm ground' you thought you were standing on was taken out from underneath you and you were slipping into an 'unknown' space. I have done both, finding myself covered in mud and wet to the core from slipping into the river, and sliding helplessly down a ravine on my backside until something could stop my descent. Footing is important - it grounds you. I recently explored the area known as "El Malpais" in New Mexico - the site of a large lava flow that has hardened over time. One thing that struck me about the landscape around me for miles and miles was the 'impenetrability' of that hardened lava flow. The floor of the desert was 'locked in' by that lava and as it hardened, it became what some may think of as 'impenetrable'. The most amazing thing h