South Dakota: White and Black

For some reason, I assumed that my South Dakota visit would be easily told, so I held off writing about my first stop, The Badlands National Park, until I rolled out of my second stop, The Black Hills. I'm now sitting with nearly 300 photos and an array of stories to tell, so if this sounds a little "off," perhaps it is! 

The Badlands: A Week Among the Light and Stone
Since I've already been asked (and wondered myself) how the Badlands got its' name -- history has it that it was known as "mako shika" ("no good land") to the Sioux, and to French trappers in the mid-1700's, who were frustrated by the land's sharp peaks and crumbling rock, the area was called "les mauvaises terre" (bad lands). The National Park, 160 square miles of buttes, spires and valleys, is wide open and most picturesque at dawn and dusk. Surprisingly, however, the hiking is very limited -- many short "tourist trails" that are quite scenic, and just one 10-mile trail; so I did them all. While cycling the scenic drive was a safety challenge, I did a few miles, but mostly rode west of the tiny town of Interior (pop: 94), enjoying the open space, and the push in one direction! The greatest challenge wasn't the hiking and biking, however, but the weather (see below) and returning to summer tourist travel season. While I spent an entire week camping at the Park, I'd forgotten about the "let's rush to the next photo opp" traveler, and literally, every one-to-two nights, I had a new array of neighbors coming and going. Can we all just relax?

The Black Hills: Granite Peaks and Forested Mountains
I was surprised to learn that the Black Hills are the highest mountains east of the Rockies, even with the famous Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse locations there. My home for the week was a very peaceful, family-owned campground outside the town of Custer, the oldest town in the Black Hills. After a week of the starkness of the Badlands National Park, I have to admit that I appreciated the beautiful Ponderosa pines that create the illusion of darkness from a distance. While I hadn't planned to do the total tourist thing, arriving the week of the 4th of July added to the fun of being in this location! 

Weather: Yes, this requires a statement! 
While I've been through blizzards, hurricanes and earthquakes, the weather in this area is by far the scariest, as it literally sneaks up on you. While in Badlands NP, I awoke two nights to 40+ mph winds and my tent lying on me, but it was nothing compared to the 5th day. Thanks to a neighbor, I had notice that a severe thunderstorm was on the way, so I took my tent down, then sat for dinner. Without warning, a 70+ mph wind blew in, taking everything on my table, along with at least four tents that blew along the plains. Within an hour, torrential rains, lightning and rolling thunder came through for an hour or two. I could feel the rumbling from the ground up. 

In the Black Hills, I was fooled, however. A hail storm showed up one late afternoon, so I sat in my car reading before returning to my tent to sleep. Two hours later, the sky was a light show, the rains were pouring down, and the thunder was shaking the ground. I can't tell you how long this prevailed, but I can tell you that this Catholic school girl was saying her Hail Marys.