Oh Dakota! Update On My Tour of the West

I’m writing this at a Taco John’s with free Wifi in Sheridan, Wyoming. The last several days since I left Minneapolis have been busy. Very busy. My days have consisted of driving, taking photos, editing photos and sleeping. Today I’ll be crossing the Big Horn Mountains and should arrive in Yellowstone in the later afternoon.

Despite the hectic schedule, I’ve seen a lot of amazing things. In Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota I was able to gets some great closeup photos of bison, mule deer, prairie dogs and wild horses. It is a really under appreciated National Park and one which I’ll be writing more about soon.

From North Dakota I traveled south to the Black Hills of South Dakota. The drive was really interesting as I was able to get off the interstate and get a much closer look at the farms and prairie of the western Dakotas. In the Black Hills I did the obligatory pilgrimage to Mount Rushmore and drove through Custer State Park and visited Wind Cave National Park. I also was able to get some great photos of cowboys on horseback herding buffalo in Custer.

The biggest thing for me so far has been being able to take wildlife photos. This is something I’ve never been able to do well, and honestly, I still don’t think I have the lens to do it properly. All my photos have been taken near my car and on the road because my lens only goes to 200mm and isn’t very fast. I’m hoping I can add some elk to my collection in Yellowstone.

I’ll be in Yellowstone/Grand Tetons for about 4-5 days before heading up to Glacier and then to Calgary/Banff. So if you are in Calgary and would like to meet up, you can sort of figure on me being there in about a week.