Mt. Rushmore

South Dakota

In 2007 I semi-retired and moved from OPEC (Overpopulated Polluted East Coast) back to the state of my youth, South Dakota. My former co-workers in Massachusetts surely thought I was insane. Although I lived in the eastern part of the state, the best photo ops are, in South Dakota vernacular, West River. I rarely went during the touristy summer, preferring the quieter fall, winter and spring. There's plenty of telephoto images of many animal species. From 2011 until a fire in 2017, I had a trailcam stashed somewhere in the Black Hills monitoring elk movements. We moved to Montana in 2020, but it is close enough that we have driven through South Dakota a few times since. I always try to drive the Badlands Loop when passing through.

• Top 10x10: South Dakota Best of 2007-17 in ten categories. [Top 10 in 10 after 10] [Blog Entry]
   
• Favorite Species: Bighorn Sheep, Bison, Coyotes, Elk, Pronghorn, Prairie Dogs, Bluebirds.
   
• West River wildlife - Custer State Park, Wind Cave National Park, Badlands National Park and other things seen along the road.
   
• Badlands, December 2021. [Photos] [Blog Entry]
• Badlands, Summer 2020. [Photos] [Blog Entry]
• Badlands Bighorns, November 2019. [Photos] [Blog Entry]
• Black Hills and Badlands, May 2019. [Photos] [Blog Entry]
• Black Hills and Badlands, May 2018. [Photos] [Blog Entry]
• Trailcam Inferno, February 2018. [Photos] [Blog Entry]
• Badlands and Black Hills camera test, November 2017. [Photos] [Blog Entry]
• Badlands and Black Hills, September 2017. [Photos] [Blog Entry]
• Multitasking during Eclipse Trip, trailcam update and some burrowing owls, August 2017. [Photos] [Blog Post]
• Badlands Bighorns and trailcam update, April 2017. [Photos] [Blog Entry]
• Western South Dakota parks, November 2016. [Photos] [Blog Entry]
• October 2016 – Simmons Wildlife Safari (NE), Utah National Parks, Olympic skiers in Park City, trailcam update from Wind Cave NP, bighorn sheep in Badlands NP. [Photos] [Blog Entry]
• Trailcam update from Wind Cave National Park, May 2016. [Photos] [Blog Entry]
• Trailcam update from Wind Cave National Park, November 2015. [Photos] [Blog Entry]
• Newton Hills State Park and other neighborhood images, June 2015. [Photos] [Blog Entry]
• Trailcam update from Wind Cave National Park, March 2015. [Photos] [Blog Entry]
• Trailcam update from Wind Cave National Park, October 2014. [Photos] [Blog Entry]
• Trailcam update from Wind Cave National Park, April 2014. [Photos] [Blog Entry]
• Trailcam update from Wind Cave National Park, October 2013. [Photos] [Blog Entry]
• Hawk in front yard, September 2013. [Photos] [Blog Entry]
• Trailcam update from Wind Cave National Park, lazy bighorns in Custer State Park, March 2013. [Photos] [Blog Entry]
• Various western parks, October 2012. [Photos] [Blog Entry]
• New Trailcam and Custer State Park, December 2011. [Blog Entry] [Photos]
• Custer State Park bighorn lambs, July 2011. [Blog Entry] [Photos]
• Custer State Park, bighorns in Cleghorn Canyon, Ft. Randall dam, January 2011. [Narrative] [Photos]
• Custer State Park, Wind Cave NP, Winter 2009. [Photos] [Blog entry]
• Custer State Park, Wind Cave NP, and out on the South Dakota prairie, Spring 2009. [Photos] [Blog entry]
• Autumn 2008 – Custer State Park and Wind Cave NP (SD), Simmons Wildlife Safari (NE), Bosque del Apache NWR (NM), Squaw Creek NWR (MO) and some other stuff. [Photos] [Narrative]
• Custer State Park, June 2008. [Narrative] [Photos]
• Eagles at Ft. Randall dam, February 2008. [Narrative] [Photos]
• Custer State Park, February 2008. [Narrative] [Photos]
• Autumn 2007 – Drive through the western US including Bosque del Apache NWR (MN), Squaw Creek NWR (MO), and a few shots from a local Sioux Falls park. [Photos]
• More photos of Mt. Rushmore and other sights. [Photos]
   
• Sioux Falls Air Show
   
• Sioux Falls Air Show featuring Thunderbirds, South Dakota. August 2019. [Photos] [Blog Entry]
• Sioux Falls Air Show featuring Blue Angels, South Dakota. July 2016. [Photos] [Blog Entry]
• Sioux Falls Air Show featuring Blue Angels, South Dakota, July 2009. [Photos] [Blog Entry]