Ah. I love camping. I really need to get out and camp more often. I spent Thanksgiving Break in Buffalo Gap National Grassland, an area of wide open prairies, bordering the South Dakotan Badlands. It was beautiful. Wide horizons, blue skies, golden grasses. I really want to come back in the spring and see it when everything is green. Here's a brief synposis of my trip.
What I saw: 2 coyotes, 4 hawks, 4 pronghorn antelope, 7 somethings (probably antelope, but they were too far away to be certain), 2 rabbits, 3 other birds, and hundreds of prairie dogs, expansive vistas, the badlands formations, grasses, forbs, yucca, junipers, a dry creek bed, the milky way
What I heard: lots of coyotes, some owls, wind, silence, prairie dog alarm calls, a couple of planes
What I felt: bitter wind, warm sunshine, warmth from a cow chip fire, sore feet and shoulders
What I smelt: pretty much nothing
What I tasted: ramen, lipton's instant thai noodles, whole wheat bagels with fresh havarti cheese, raw tender bits, nature valley crunchy granola bars, instant oatmeal
Unfortunately, I left behind my 35mm camera due to weight considerations, so I couldn't get any decent photos of the animals that I saw, but I did take quite a few shots of the scenery. Here's a few. If you want to see shots of some of the flora, visit biophilia.
6 comments:
Greg, did you go by yourself? Are you sure that's safe?
Your pictures are beautiful.
You know, in all my travels, I don't think I've been to Buffalo Gap... Just how close is it to the Badlands?
Gregory Leighton James Fitzgerald Okimi--BLOG already!!!!
greg, those pictures are beautiful. they make me homesick for north dakota. although, when we were little we camped in all the badlands, so i do have good memories of them all. i love meeting buffalo on the trail. ok, really it just freaked us out and we climbed straight up a butte. not an easy feat, but definitely a fun memory.
thanks for reminding me. :)
Carissa: Yep. Sure did. Nope, not sure at all, but definitely worth it. Thanks, there's a lot of trashy ones that didn't make the cut, but I was lucky to get some good ones :)
David: Intimately close. In fact, you pretty much can't get to the Badlands without passing through some part of Buffalo Gap, since it surrounds the Badlands.
Katie: See comment on biophilia :)
Angela!: Thanks. I had fun taking them. :) I was hoping, but not really expecting to see some buffalo. I'm laughing just imagining a bunch of people scrabbling up a butte to escape a buffalo. No problem, and thanks as well :)
You are a very talented photographer. Wow!
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