Badlands

As I am watching a "Lewis & Clark" video and the Corps of Discovery have now reached the Dakotas and are about to press ahead through the high mountains, I dug out a picture of the Badlands I took last fall:

It was October 1, 2004. Were it not a freezing morning, when the not so fast-moving air literally cut into the skin, I could have stayed a little longer with this post-nuclear-looking wild beauty.

Incidentally, the next day's (Friday, 8/26) NYT features a travel log in the Blackhills region of South Dakota. It covers not only natural and historical attractions, but also pointers to lodging and eating services, with address, number, and pricing. The description of a cold-war era nuclear control center, now a historic memorial, is particularly interesting. Recommended reading for anyone traveling to the southwest corner of South Dakota. The photos in this web version South Dakota to the Extreme> are apparently not nearly as striking as in the print version.
(This paragraph added August 26, 2005.)