We still have to get down without breaking my camera gear and the moon is providing just enough light to vaguely sense where the rock ledge ends. Herb gets to the bottom of the climb and yells to me to throw the camera bag down to him, but I can’t see him. Strapping on the bag, I grab the rope and start backward over the ledge and immediately lose my balance. My feet fly out from under me and I hit the rock wall, protecting

the camera with my face while Herb holds the rope steady. At the bottom of the climb, we check the gear for shifting and head down the mesa. We walk about a half mile back to the truck and continue to a few more locations. The desert is eerily quiet except for the wind and we sit in silence. “RIDE” doesn’t really lend itself to

nighttime shots, so I figure anything I get out here now is going into the private stash.

After attempting to get some long exposures of the silhouetted rock formations in the moonlight, I notice some interesting patterns in the sand. The moon is at an angle that makes the waves prominent and different than what I’d see during the day. We get into the truck and head back, the monuments behind me blandly indifferent to my

trespass into their sanctuary. -Mike Ricciardi