L. D. Whitney

I was twenty-one when I first sat down to watch the 1982 sword and sorcery classic, Conan the Barbarian starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. It was a life changing moment for me. While far too many people dismiss and deride this film as 80's cheese, nothing but oiled muscles and scantily clad women, they would be wrong. At its heart, John Milius' Conan is a philosophical journey masked by an age of high adventure, a journey that deeply resonated with me. I had come to the movie th

I pulled my sunglasses from my face, lifted my hat from my head, and wiped away the sweat already beginning to bead just beneath my hairline. The dark clouds that had blotted out the sun now ventured forth to lands unknown and the sun shown full bore in the hazy blue sky. The air was dry and warm but a cool breeze found its way to my skin intermittently. I looked on as the gentle breath sent the green grass waving like an emerald ocean. A trail of almost non existent footprin

Reflections from my 2012 trip to the Badlands of South Dakota.