no more rain dances, please

 

This is officially the wettest May on record in Texas and with today's 2+ inches (and it's raining as I post) Lubbock has probably broken the 1941 rainfall record and now rates as the wettest May ever.

 

Lakota Dancer

Crazy Horse Monument

South Dakota

6.9.2015

roughlock falls

 

Spring rains and winter snow melt made the falls in Spearfish Canyon in spectacular.  For those who are interested:  shot on manual 4.2 aperture at f/22 and ISO 125.  The objective was to smooth out the water.

 

Roughlock Falls

Spearfish Canyon

South Dakota

6.12.2014

view of mt. rushmore from wall drug

 

Sometimes the time tourists spend at roadside attractions like Wall Drug Store skews their view of national landmarks.

 

Wall Drug Store

Wall, South Dakota

6.12.2014

sunset in the badlands

 

The photographers, armed with cameras with telephoto lenses mounted on tripods, awaited a glorious sunset.  Alas, the few clouds disappeared as darkness approached and there were no clouds as the sun  sank behind the hills.  Only the magic of post-processing revealed an eerie alien landscape.

 

 

The Badlands, South Dakota

6.11.2014



through the window

 

Travel really does open a window to the world -- or, in this case, South Dakota.  From inside the log cabin one could image what the grassland looked like to the settlers in the mid-19th century.  Early summer this year was especially lush and green.

 

Custer State Park

South Dakota

6.10.2014

 

 

 

the boys

 

No account of travels to South Dakota would be complete without reference to Mount Rushmore.  It is truly an awesome sight, from the first glimpse spotted from the road and along the trail at the base.

 

 

 I also like the glimpse of both Georges-- the one carved on the mountain and the model inside the sculptor's workshop.  Gutzon Borglum had worked on the monument at Stone Mountain, Georgia but left on bad terms.  During the 14 years it took for completion, Borglum was away and working on other projects. His son finished most of the work at Mount Rushmore.

And just to prove that I was there!

Mount Rushmore
South Dakota
6.9.2014

sylvan lake

Sylvan Lake is surrounded by rounded rock formations and ponderosa pine trees.  It is called "the crown jewel" of Custer State Park.  Imagine if you will, a dozen photographers on the lake shore, waiting for the sun to set, wondering whether the clouds would catch the evening's color.  Hiking to the lake helped work out the excellent dinner of buffalo sirloin that we had earlier at the Sylvan Lake Lodge.

 

 

Sylvan Lake

Custer State Park

South Dakota

6.9.2014







"My lands are where my dead lie buried."

The Crazy Horse Monument , as shown in the model, is a sculpture of the Lakota warrior Chief Crazy Horse astride a stallion with his arm and pointed hand stretched out over the horse's mane. It's been 64 years in the making, begun by Korczak Ziolkowski in 1948.  When finished, it will be taller than the Washington Monument and well over two football fields wide — the extended left finger is 28 feet long. Crazy Horse, a tribute to Native Americans, is the largest mountain carving in progress and will dwarf Mount Rushmore.  Crazy Horse, revered as a spiritual leader of the Lakota said "My lands are where my dead lie buried." His extended hand on the monument is to symbolize that statement.

 



Crazy Horse Monument
Black Hills, South Dakota
6.9.2014





Majestic, and stoic of stature;
master of the open ground.

(Ode to the American Buffalo -- Geiger)


There is a bill in Congress "to adopt the bison as the national mammal of the United States." The bison, or American buffalo, is already the state animal of Wyoming, Oklahoma and Kansas. South Dakota has 33,000 bison one-sixth the national total (although the state animal is the coyote). Sen. Tim Johnson says "The bison has played an important role in our nation's history, holds spiritual significance to Native American cultures and remains one of our most iconic and enduring symbols."  What a sight to see a vast herd of bison with calves frolicking alongside their mothers while the bison bull surveyed his kingdom from atop the hill.

 

Custer State Park

South Dakota

6.10.2014

little spearfish falls

 

The origins of the name of Spearfish Canyon can be debated. Many believe the Sioux Indians speared fish from Spearfish River, while others think that white men simply coined the name because it looked like it would be a good area to spear fish from. The limestone palisades of this creek-carved gorge are more ancient than the Grand Canyon. Accessible only by horseback until 1893, Spearfish Canyon’s narrow, 1000-foot walls are among the most spectacular scenery in the Black Hills. Spearfish Canyon is known for its beauty and its waterfalls.

Little Spearfish Falls
Spearfish Canyon
South Dakota

the badlands

 

This broken landscape earned the name "the Badlands."  Difficult terrain, bad water and sometimes bad guys were encountered in early days.  With each passing cloud, the lighting changes the color of the strata.

 

The Badlands

South Dakota

6.11.2014

lakota dancer

 

Down the road from the monuments honoring the Presidents is a work in progress.  The Crazy Horse mountain sculpture will honor Native Americans.  Tour of the site includes the sculptor's log cabin, a model of the finished monument and native dancers.

 

Crazy Horse Memorial

South Dakota

the buffalo nursery

 

We were fortunate today to see hundreds of buffalo with their cinnamon-colored calves, many newly-born.  It was a perfect day with blue skies, green grass and yellow sweet clover in bloom.  Nearly 1,300 bison, commonly called buffalo, roam the prairies and hills of Custer State Park, which they share with swift pronghorn, shy elk and curious burros.

 

Custer State Park

South Dakota

Sunset at Sylvan Lake

Black Hills

South Dakota