Alone with the Milky Way

 
I went out last night with the intention of photographing the Milky Way over a new lakeside location that I haven't tried yet.  I had to alter my plan, however, as the wind was much too strong to get the reflections I was hoping for in the water.  I wasn't sure where to go after that, so I just drove around until I got an idea to try a local gravel pit. I wanted to see if there were any interesting trees along the edge of the pit to compose as a silhouette against the sky.  What I found instead was a very nice gravel pile that lined up perfectly with the Milky Way.  I decided to set my camera to take one exposure after another then walk to the top of the gravel pile to pose in the shot.  What you see here is what I ended up with.  I think it looks like a photo that might have been made in the Badlands or in Utah rather than northern Minnesota.  Kind of fun, I think :-)