We are home again and tomorrow I will be back to work. Here is a photo of the “Badlands” of southwestern South Dakota. It is stark and barren and beautiful. We love to take the leisurely drive through this area. Lots of hiking here if it’s not too hot and if one watches out for rattlesnakes! There are mountain goats and prairie dogs in abundance.
And I LOVE to take photos of pretty skies.
We drove to Custer State Park and stayed at the State Game Lodge for a few days.
It has quite a history…but my favorite part is the free-roaming buffalo!
Nearly two hundred head of buffalo crossed the front lawn of the lodge the very first day we were there. It was pretty exciting!
I was enamoured by the number of calves that were in the group. I managed to catch this one with my little point and shoot camera.
I could sit and watch them (from afar) all day long. They are such magnificent creatures. And to think that one time many years ago, there were hundreds of thousands of these creatures roaming across the USA. Here in Custer State Park they keep the population at about 1500 head per year. Of course this was only the start of our trip.
We took another tour and a long hike at the Mount Rushmore Monument which is in the Black Hills of South Dakota as well. Carved in the side of a mountain are four of our Presidents, Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln. It took 16 years to complete this task!
We have been to all of these sites many times before, but we never tire of touring our USA. I hope all of my friends who live far away will enjoy seeing these famous USA sites. I’ll show a few more in my next post.
For now I will say that it was one of the most relaxing trips we have taken and while I can’t say that I am happy to be home (work, doctors, etc.), we have returned refreshed and ready to face whatever each day brings.
Til next time….Averyclaire
Averyclaire 