snapshots from a moving vehicle – South Dakota

Grasslands and hay bales. Mid-term elections. Cornfields and cattle. Billboards and a time zone shift.

Jigger’s Restaurant – Kadoka, South Dakota

When you’ve just had the warmth blown out of your bones in the Badlands National Park, this is the kind of family-run restaurant you need to fall across off the highway.

The Sunday lunch special was broiled chicken with green peas, mashed potato and gravy. There appeared to be three generations of the family involved in this home-cooking venture. It smelled just wonderful as we entered the WARM dining room filled with locals.

We ended up opting for something lighter. I didn’t quite expect the gravy on the hot roast beef sandwich to be so generous a serving. 🙂

Badlands, South Dakota

Our visit to Badlands National Park in South Dakota was atmospheric rather than kaleidoscopically colourful, as it might have been if the sun was shining. The sunflowers surrounding the park had their heads bowed. The geese were heading south. Even the sentry prairie dogs were laying low in their burrows. It was dark and cold, reminiscent of the landscape of Wuthering Heights, only the wind was whipping off the prairies, not the English moors.

Nevertheless, the pinnacles shone through with albeit muted colours.

 

around South Dakota’s forests and parks

Various species of wildlife turned up today in our travels. Can you spot the import into Custer State Park?

Mount Rushmore

Just photographs and great admiration for the men who did the work.

Rapid City, South Dakota

In previous professional incarnations I’ve been responsible for the activation and enrichment of public places and spaces in city centres. Tonight we lobbed into Rapid City in South Dakota. Through the window of a city centre building we observed an art class going on. Community sculpture programs go on in the Main Square. Tomorrow a Taste of South Dakota event is taking place. There are sculptures of American Presidents on street corners and a vibrant restaurant scene. On first impression, Rapid City seems like a pretty cool place.