A peaceful stream found in Baxter’s Hollow, North Freedom, WI. I took this outing with a friend on a comfortably warm winter day after being away from the preserve for nearly 1.5 years, and was eager to reveal an area that I’d sang so much praise for. I was surprised to find the main gate closed when we arrived, and it would be generous to claim that the small parking lot before it had been plowed. We parked anyway and crossed the closed gate, and began a mile-long walk across snow-covered asphalt to reach the actual preserve. I felt the land was unforgettable after a single visit and spoke just as highly of it, but the hilly road we struggled across had little to celebrate. My friend was a good sport, though I’m sure she questioned my judgment in parks and in general after that slog really got underway.
Not long after we took to the unplowed road, my friend realized that she left her phone in her car. She ran back to get it while I waited atop a small bridge, and that’s when I noticed this stream, so easily passed when the preserve could be driven to, and nearly passed without notice on our walk and my wait. I captured several frames before my friend returned, and knew that the wondrous land I dreamed of returning to wasn’t far in the distance, and wasn’t unlike the sights along the road we battled against. Bubbling streams and pristine snow lay along both sides of the road throughout our walk. Trees waited with snow-covered boughs in perfect stillness, and faint ribbons of snow cascaded down the few times that a breeze came around.
We laughed when we finally arrived at the preserve and took to appreciating a space that no one else had come near, but I found myself thankful for the challenging walk to that point. So many incomparable sights would’ve otherwise been a blur along a car window, and neither of us would even know that the splendor I wanted to share had been lessened by that.
Mamiya RB 67 Pro-S
Mamiya 50mm f/4.5 C
Kodak Ektachrome E100 – ISO 100 – 6×7