The Black Hills and The Badlands

The weather warmed up as we headed East and the snow turned to rain.  We had a couple of lovely days in the Wind Cave National Park - beautiful rolling downlands that wouldn't look out of place in England, except for the roaming bison and bouncing antelopes.

We drove East towards the Badlands, through Custer and Keystone, stopping at Mount Rushmore to view this iconic symbol of America.

We entered the Badlands National Park from the West, via a little dirt road, and were surprised to find lush grasslands and a perfect campsite. We spent two lazy days, watching the bison, picnicing in the hills and listening to warbling meadowlarks and yapping prairie dogs.

We had plenty of time to explore and hunt for wildlife. The girls were particularly fascinated by a huge toad, but only Tony managed to spot a prairie rattlesnake after nearly tripping over it...it slid into a hole before he could recover enough to get out the camera!

We eventually dragged ourselves out of our indolence and sought out the real Badlands - a harsh dry landscape rising from the prairie and much more deserving of the name.  We spent a lot of time hunting for rattlesnakes and fossils, without any luck, but we did spot a big horn sheep on the hillside.

We have now returned to the Northern Black Hills and today will visit Deadwood and the Spearfish Canyon, where Tony is itching to christen his latest acquisition - a new fly rod.