Our first two days in the Badlands were nearly cloudless skies. This was perfect for one of our objectives — night sky imagery. However, daytime photography is much more colorful and dramatic with clouds. Our last afternoon greeted us with a wonderful storm coming from the west. (We learned when we got to our campsite after dark, that someone rescued our tent from blowing across the prairie!) Driving south of the park, we pulled over to get some shots of the approaching clouds.
Looking west on South Dakota 44
We chose this spot to pull over because of this magnificent cottonwood tree. In the distance is the Badlands wall.
Cottonwood view
Back on the road, we soon came to an intersection. Do we continue northeast or turn straight north directly back to the park? Who knows what we might’ve encountered going straight, but surprises and wonders greeted us on the north route. The first was this car in a pasture. We walked out to it, let the skunk wander off and then started making pictures as the storm built.
A peak inside?
Then looking north toward the Park as the clouds got overhead. To the west in the first image you can see a few trees that caught my eye and are in the image following.
As the western horizon started opening up a bit, we hoped for a colorful sunset, so we headed back north toward the Park. We got rewarded with a fiery sunset, but first we’d find an owl searching the prairie. The sunset and owl images to come sometime in the future. For now, the promising glow of the sun behind the rain clouds as we headed back into the Park.
The storm moving on