Trina and Don in the Badlands

Don has a lovely spontaneous streak, which resulted in a "long cut" south from Wall on 240 through a portion of the Badlands National Park. Wow!

And then he got the even better idea of getting a picture of us... Set up the camera on the hood of the car, scooted over to him, making him laugh, and... voila! The South Dakota adventures of Trina and Don!

Beautiful Badlands

The Badlands were like a penny candy store to a child for this photographer; each scene more delightful than the one before. Don't you just love the antelope?

More Beautiful Badlands

The wild life in the park clearly knows that it is protected. Sheep and antelope, mule deer and prairie chickens all go about their business with an air of impunity.

Hey Katharine, these little guys are for you... Remember we were talking on the phone while I took this picture. "Oh, oh, Katharine, there are prairie dogs and they're soooo cuuuuuuuuuuute!" Yeah, well, not so beloved if you're a rancher and yr cattle step in one of their holes. Also, turns out to be a prime place for rattlesnakes! I won't tell you that I heard recently of 30 rattlers being killed near a prairie dog town a few days ago.



The pinks and yellows are startling.
After a while, I realized that the colors and forms were somewhat familiar because of their resemblance to the cliffs at Gay Head, on Martha's Vineyard, of all places.

Drama and more drama...

And then the moon rose in front of us just as our detour came to an end!

Wall - the "South of the Border" of South Dakota

October 13, Have you ever driven south on 95, and seen billboards 50 miles from South Carolina announcing "South of the Border" ?? Welcome to Wall Drugs in Wall, South Dakota. I decided to skip all the formerly live animals and comments on Jane Fonda... huh? On to the magnificent badlands! .

October 11


Saturday was hectic; Alexander had come home to surprise me, bless his heart. Flew to Denver, then on to Rapid City. Isn't this a wonderful logo? Denver weather was lousy; the plane to Rapid was empty!!

And... in case you're wondering... I'm having a tough time learning how to place photos in this blog. Hopefully, I'll improve!

Packing Warm Clothes

Too busy packing and taking care of things to write much.
I've been given to understand that there will be plenty of time for that.
D has been told that one must steer clear of the Indian reservations -
that drugs and violence are rampant
how very sad
getting my 6x17 camera worked on in anticipation of much photography.
Company rules do not allow one to travel alone;
safety gear for winter is not only required,
but weekly reports on the state of one's vehicle are mandatory;
failure of a spot safety check is grounds for dismissal;
one is required to call or email before leaving and upon returning from excursions.
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm - sounds like Dad!
Ok. Back to work!
Check out nighttime temperatures below!

10-Day Forecast

			High / Low (°F)	Precip. %
Tonight Oct 06		Partly Cloudy	39°	20 %
Tue Oct 07		Sunny	70°/42°	20 %
Wed Oct 08		Sunny / Wind	67°/38°	0 %
Thu Oct 09		Few Showers	56°/37°	30 %
Fri Oct 10		Showers	52°/32°	40 %
Sat Oct 11		Showers	54°/30°	40 %
Sun Oct 12		Showers	54°/30°	40 %
Mon Oct 13		Sunny	58°/33°	20 %
Tue Oct 14		Sunny	60°/34°	0 %
Wed Oct 15		Sunny	62°/37°	10 %

Early morning departure...

D's black Volvo rolled off into the dark a few moments ago, packed with warm clothes and more warm clothes, never mind that it is still in the 70's in SD! And oh yes, the chocolate chip cookies K baked last evening as we packed. Last to go in? Snow shoes from A's time in Vermont.