Diane MacDonald
Photography

Musings

(posted on 15 Apr 2019)

We camped near Rapid City, South Dakota, beneath this dramatic sky.  The national weather
forecast was daunting, compelling us to make haste toward home to outrun high wind and
blizzard conditions.  

Fortunately we had two sunny days in South Dakota before we headed west across Montana 
and Idaho and over the mountains into Washington State.  But I'm ahead of myself.  After leaving 
Washington, DC and Virginia, it wasn't long until we were in Lexington Kentucky, considered by some
to be the "horse capital of the world". Certainly the farms are beautiful. The structure below is not a 
house but a stable, typical of barns in the area housing the award winning race horses for which 
the region is famous.

In addition to equine fame, Kentucky is noteworthy for its variety of wonderfully lubricating
Bourbon distilleries - the barrels below full of Woodford Reserve.

Crossing the Missouri River to get into Iowa into Nebraska was challenging - Nebraska 
suffered enormous flood damage this spring and most of the bridges across the river near
Omaha were impassable.  Below: a screen shot of road closures necessitating detours.

 

Then - prairie landscapes where frequently the most compelling view is the sky above.  

The Black Hills rise from the desert in southwestern South Dakota - home of Mt. Rushmore.
The surrounding country roads are a joy to drive in the off-season - narrow hairpin turns lead
to tunnels designed to frame unique views of the monument.

And then there is the Pinnacles Highway in Custer State Park,
once again affording wonderful views of remarkable rock formations,
and making driving an adventure and welcome change from
interstate madness.

Then road, road, road.

 

I amused myself with my camera, trying to "capture" reflections of semis - we passed them 
going up; they passed us going down.

Prairie towns often offer a special brand of humour.  Broadus Montana characterizes itself as
"The Wavingest Town in the West".

With that we were waved right home - and delighted to return full to the brim with 
adventure and be back to the comfort of home once again.  Thank you to those who
"came along for the ride".