Upper Mississippi Mile 124 near St. Genevieve, MO – November 9, 2012
The sandbar underneath me is soft, the sky is sharp, dark, and splashed with stars. I stare up, my eyes lost in the distant points of light.
I can’t remember the last time I slept underneath the stars. No roof, no tent, no tarp, nothing between me and the night sky. It has been too long. I forgot how beautiful it is.
I love the rawness of it, the way it strips the world down. The stars, the wind, the sounds of night, they arrive unfiltered, full, like you’re part of it, not watching from behind a pane of glass, not hiding in a sanitized pocket of ripstop nylon.
It is not a glimpse, not a glance up before slipping inside a tent, not a peek out a window. It’s staring into the sky until your consciousness slips away, until you stop counting falling stars, until you drift to sleep as the heavens rotate above.
Predictably Lost 
Wow — when there are no lights in the sky to filter nature’s colors, you get to see some unbelieveable sunrises and, with this photo, sunsets. I look forward to your daily messages from on the road, err water.
Well said D. It has been too long since I did the same. Everyone should try it at least once. Just get away from city lights, preferably on a cool to cold night to keep the bugs away, and enjoy. You will never regret it or forget it. Nature’s canvas is amazing.
You really are a poet. I must sleep outside on my covered but open porch while it is still cool and there are no bugs.
love,love,love your writing! You make me feel as if I am with you on this journey. Be safe.Carrie
The red sky is dirt particles in the sky.