We made it safely to South Dakota, a new state for both of us. And while this is our first time here, we both sincerely hope it will not be our last. We are briefly staying in Rapid, City, and today we got to explore the charming old-styled downtown. It was quintessential Americana: Flags waving, children giggling in the splash pad, folks strolling arm in arm, eating ice cream, listening to the 90s pop coming from the overhead sound system. Bronze statues of US presidents on seemingly every corner. Cowboy hats, boots, and belt buckles on view aplenty and unironically. The weather was warm and breezy, puffy clouds skittered across a blue wide open sky.

On our way to town on the 4th, we stopped at Devils Tower and passed the Crazy Horse memorial. On the 5th we spent the entire day in Badlands National Park, after the mandatory stop at Wall Drug, of course. The Badlands were incredible. We had moved away from the warnings about bears and bisons and on to warnings about rattlesnakes and plague-bearing prairie dogs. The history in that national park is mind-bending. The fossils that are still being discovered there are incredible. And the dark sky that the national park affords is jaw dropping. We attended the Astro Fest at the park, which meant in the evening we got to hear a presentation from a person who worked on the Webb telescope. The audience then had the opportunity to star gaze with high grade, professional telescopes and professional astronomers. After that, we drove back into the park to do some start gazing and photography of our own. Larry captured some incredible images, as you will see below.

And now, our time here is at an end. We have very much enjoyed our cozy air bnb (seriously, one of the best we’ve ever stayed in), but the car is loaded and tomorrow morning, very early, we will start our longest stretch of a day drive and shoot to be in Chicago by sunset (thank god for the long, summer days).