This year’s family vacation took us to… South Dakota? A bit lower in elevation than our usual Colorado spots, we wanted to go someplace different. Dorinna was still recovering from a broken hip last fall, so we knew we weren’t going to do any backpacking. We had limited time this year, so we didn’t want to drive that far either. South Dakota turned out to be a perfect choice.
Our journey first took us through the prairies of Wyoming. Turning east just north of Cheyenne, we passed through prairie and farming country to the small town of Torrington. The downtown was an interesting mix of houses punctuated with feed elevators. The country beyond was green and beautiful, with rolling hills and occasional white chalky badlands. The town of Luuk was prettier, with a nice but small downtown. From there we climbed up from the green hills into a prairie-covered plateau. This plateau transitioned gradually into sparse clumps of ponderosa forest. We had arrived in the Black Hills.
We stayed our first night at a hotel in Hot Springs, South Dakota. There was a brewpub across the street from our hotel. Good food, decent beer, and a nice transition from home to vacation. Tomorrow the fun would begin.
The next series of posts will cover our trip. While there will be stories to be told, the emphasis as always will be on the photography (There will be a parallel set of posts on my family website if family photos are more your thing). Stay tuned.
Das Haus von Ruh 