So, last weekend I went for another hike in the Badlands of South Dakota. Because I was recently injured, and because I wanted to try out my new (somewhat heavy) wilderness kit out, I stayed on the trails this time.
The trail started out very hard:
But then it got much easier:
Once over that ridge, I get a view of the other side of it:
Then I come to an area where erosion has caused the 'paved desert' effect:
In part of it, somebody rearranged the stones a long time ago:
About this time is the first time I see this bluebird, which will continue perplexingly to follow the trail just ahead of me for a long time:
I then have to cross this difficult little canyon. You have to watch your step around here:
Then, I pass through a group of small, grassy mesas:
Where I find a kind of flower I'd never seen before:
About this time, I get my best shot of that bluebird before it finally stops leading me along the trail. (what are the chances that every time it would fly away, it would fly further down along the trail?) Getting a shot like this with a point-and-shoot is no easy task:
I pass by some more of the badlands' famous moonscape on the way back to the ridge:
And I see some more interesting formations just before going back down to the bottom of the ridge, where my truck is parked:

The trail started out very hard:
But then it got much easier:
Once over that ridge, I get a view of the other side of it:
Then I come to an area where erosion has caused the 'paved desert' effect:
In part of it, somebody rearranged the stones a long time ago:
About this time is the first time I see this bluebird, which will continue perplexingly to follow the trail just ahead of me for a long time:
I then have to cross this difficult little canyon. You have to watch your step around here:
Then, I pass through a group of small, grassy mesas:
Where I find a kind of flower I'd never seen before:
About this time, I get my best shot of that bluebird before it finally stops leading me along the trail. (what are the chances that every time it would fly away, it would fly further down along the trail?) Getting a shot like this with a point-and-shoot is no easy task:
I pass by some more of the badlands' famous moonscape on the way back to the ridge:
And I see some more interesting formations just before going back down to the bottom of the ridge, where my truck is parked:

