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Good map and park info here: http://www.badlands.national-park.com/map.htm
I've wanted to head up to the badlands of SD since last year, after seeing some cool images online of what was in there. Sucked, as I just came back from there when I saw them. So from time to time I've had moderate urges to just get in the car and go up there and shoot it. The only thing that'd been stopping me, was not being sure it'd be cool enough, not being far enough ahead on money(ahead??? LOL!....more like not close enough to being even again), and then spring chase season. Since I've sucked so bad this year at chasing, I finally said screw it, I'm going to the badlands. The one obvious thing to consider when doing it was to do it when there'd be storms up there. This setup though, I wasn't too thrilled with. It was just good enough I figured I'd go on this one, with the main motivation being getting into the Badlands park itself. As I got closer I decided I'd just hit the park and take what I could get there. Above is a high based supercell from the southern Badlands unit. In a way it sucked, because I'd just reached the park, and it was going south out of the park. I decided to chase it south, figuring I could and would, come right back later. Soon as I get back on the highway, I notice a cop/ranger coming up behind me. Not sure what the speed limit was, so I do 55-60. I wanted to stop at the visitor center down there and get a map and info, while watching the storm too. I flip the blinker on where I thought the road was, but it wasn't the right road. So I flip it back off and continue. Right then his flashers come on. I'm like, great, I'm being pulled over why exactly? He says I was all over the road and begins to ask questions. I was not all over that road. For starters, this road is a skinny blacktop, with ruts down the middle of the lane in each wheel. Not just that, but it was bumpy up and down as you go forward. The road pulls your car around a fair amount. That said, I know I didn't even touch the white or center lines. I made sure to drive perfect as he drove right behind me for the last 2 minutes. The only swerve I could have done was when I thought the road was the one I wanted, then I backed off and kept going. But it had to be obvious I was going to turn there and decided it wasn't the right road. His lights came on right after that. So he walks up and asks if I was talking on my cell phone or something. I said, no. Then he asks if I'd been drinking. Nope. That's AFTER my crappy chases to drown my sorrows!...never before or during. I'm joking, but yeah that was one of the questions. Third question was if something was wrong with my car. He then took my license back to run it, never getting the insurance stuff or registration. He just wanted to catch a drunk and stopped me for no real reason. He played up that whole driving all over thing a bit much. He asked the car problem question again when he came back. I'm like dude, don't worry, you don't have to try this hard to make it look like you really had a reason to pull me over. He was nice enough otherwise. It reminded me of getting MIP in high school when I was the designated driver for some friends. At least that cop said it sarcastically when I asked why I was pulled over. "Oh you crossed the center line and touched the curb". I was like, wow, liar! A person couldn't drive any straighter than I was...both cases. Stopped anyway. I just hate that stopped for no real reason crap. Yeah, good to nab the drunks, but they are likely driving right by while you have me pulled over! And if I'm all over the road, it's because no one is around and I'm messing with the laptop. I'm sure not affraid to admit it when I am, that's for sure. These cases though, I know damn well I was not all over the road, since both times I knew the cop was right behind me the entire time.
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Anyway, while I was stopped I watched that supercell shrivel up and die. These updrafts here were exploding to the southeast. I didn't really care, I was here for the badlands now. I'm on Conata RD heading up the Badlands Loop RD.
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Now on the Badlands Loop on the nw side. The landscape was now simply amazing, a photographer's dream.
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Same location, standing on some "yellow mounds".
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It feels like you left Earth and wound up on some other strange planet. Dried up stream way down on the valley floor, standing on red and yellow striped dome-like mounds, with red striped peaks towering up above you.
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Somewhere around this point I knock my contact out of my eye. I'm essentially blind without them. I look all around with the one good eye and can't find it. So back to the car to put in a new one. That sucked since I've been putting off going and getting a new prescription. I wear my two week disposables for oh, 6 months, and I just changed them a week ago. So now I only have one back up pair. Yay for getting to go listen to "better or worse", "better or worse", and that lovely puff of air crap. The good thing about these mounds is you could fall/slide down them and live. The other cliffs around there, not so much so.
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Late day sun.
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This area and the Pinnacles Overlook were all I'd been to up to this point. I was rather fixated on this landscape with the convection to the south where it was.
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Now that I think about it, it reminds me a bit of the "What Dreams May Come" scenes(a GREAT movie btw).
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Think this was near the Conata picnic area.
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These fellers were up near the Pinnacles Overlook. There were probably 50 people up there at the time, with several cars going by on the road. They didn't seem to care much. There were maybe 10 of these Bighorn Sheep, several with tracking collars on. I'm standing on my trunk lid, just off the road, getting this shot. Otherwise I was too low to get cliffs behind them at all. As I do this, they all walk behind my car, probably only 2 car lengths back. I, not thinking, jump down to get back in the car and leave. I scare the crap out of them in doing so. They scatter, running every which way, including around on the road. Cars were in the area, and I pretty much felt like a fool. I wanted to grab them all and say stop! But instead, I mentally put my hands over my eyes and got back in the car.
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Sunset from Conata road again. Just like any "weather shoot", it's so tough deciding where to be and when to be there. Not knowing the area well yet, I really had a tough time figuring out where I wanted to be at sunset. Quite often the shot I get is not what I had in mind, and the one I had in mind wasn't so great. This would be that situation.
Continue to the next part of this Badlands Trip - The Night of the 17th |
