Road trip 2012, part 1: SD Badlands

Well, we have been back from our big vacation for a full day, so it's time to start sorting through the loads of pictures I took of our adventure.  Up first, the South Dakota Badlands.  We got there after a full day of driving from home.  While I was hoping for some cooler temps, they were no where to be found in this pseudo-desert environment.  We hiked around and found a campsite with a tree (a rare thing in the park).

Marky up in the hills.

 Dry, dry cracked ground and succulents.

A rare flower every now and then.

Midway through our hike we saw a storm headed in our direction.  Nothing like being out in the middle of desolate treeless land with nowhere for shelter as thunder rolls in the distance.  As we got to the peak we needed to climb down, the rain started sprinkling.  Now, this wasn't a bad hike up, aside from getting tired, but coming down, trying to move quickly without falling or getting hurt was quite the challenge.  We got the bottom safely and the storm passed right by us. 

 The view from our site.

 The great sunset.

We set up the camera to take some pictures, but without my tripod, it was a bit of a challenge. We managed to find a good rock, and got this gem of a shot.

And then we slept under the stars.  I don't recall ever being lucky enough with weather to sleep without a rain fly on the tent, but we got to this night.  It was awesome and beautiful to wake up throughout the night to the brightest stars imaginable.

The next day we went for a hike before we headed out and wound up in this cool little oasis-like area full of trees and vegetation.  It was gorgeous!

Well, that's it for the first part of the trip, more to come soon!!