FROM STEAM TRAINS TO THE BADLANDS
DEPARTING CUSTER
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It was 6:30 a.m., and I woke up earlier than I wanted. I packed up the rest of my things and hauled them to the car. It was time to depart Custer.
I wasn't sure what lay ahead because the next several days would be a new adventure.
A few days ago, I had planned to visit the 1880 steam train in Hill City, SD. However, it rained that morning, so I ended up changing my plans. This morning, the skies were clear, and my original plan was to just head to Wall, SD.
But I thought, “Hey, since it's a clear day, I might as well circle around and check out that train and capture some photos.”
So that's what I did.
ALL ABOARD
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I drove to Hill City and walked around the train depot. I looked at my watch.
“Hmm...it's only 8:15 a.m., and the roundtrip ride from Hill City to Keystone would only be a couple of hours. I'm going to do it.”
I purchased my roundtrip ticket with a departure time of 9:00 a.m. I was really excited to ride a steam train for the first time.
While walking around the depot, I noticed the sunlight hitting the tall grasses and making them glow. I really liked the way the light caught the tops of the grasses against the darker background.
Of course, I had to stop and take a few photos.
I found my train—the open-air observation car named Mystic. I loved it. It was the last car before the caboose, and there weren't a lot of people.
The cars toward the front were different. They were jam-packed. Maybe everyone wanted to be near the front.
THE RIDE TO KEYSTONE
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Once everyone was seated, we were on our way.
We passed through trees, open fields, old structures, and an old railroad line. The whistle of the train blowing before crossing any roads was just fun to hear. Every so often, we'd pass people sitting in their cars, and they'd wave at us.
We passed Addie Camp, an old mining camp from the 1890s. It was later nicknamed Kennedyville after Tom Kennedy, who ran the boarding house and saloon here. Of course, this isn’t the original building.
I felt like I was on one of those carnival train rides.
Every so often, there would be some history being told over the loudspeaker about what we were about to see. The ride itself was just so relaxing. Just being able to sit back and take in the views without having to worry about driving was really nice.
An hour later, we arrived in Keystone.
A QUICK TURNAROUND
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We had about a 15-minute turnaround, so I considered getting off and using the restroom.
I got out of the car and then saw all the other people getting off. I thought maybe a lot of the women would be heading to the restroom as well.
So, I just turned around and went back to my seat and decided to wait until we got back to Hill City.
I didn't have to go that bad anyhow.
The front of the train—the locomotive cab—started making its way to the back of the train, which would become the new front.
Because we had to return to Hill City, the train clearly couldn't ride backwards.
THE RIDE BACK TO HILL CITY
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We were finally loaded and ready to head back. This time, my coach was near the front, and that meant people sitting around me.
I don't normally mind, but the body odor I encountered was dreadful. It was an open-air car, but I still suffered.
I tried my best to ignore it as we made our way uphill toward Hill City.
Initially, I didn't realize we were heading downhill when making our way to Keystone, but it definitely showed on the return trip. We were going slower than before, and the train was definitely chugging away.
Eventually, we were back on level ground, and along the way, the train blew its whistle several times.
If you notice, there are two long blows, a short one, and then another long one. It's actually Morse code. There are a lot of different stories behind it. I won't explain it here, but you can look it up.
THE BOILER BLOWDOWN
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Near Hill City, we were told the train was going to do a boiler blowdown. In short, pressurized water and steam are used to flush built-up sediment from the boiler.
I enjoyed watching the process, and I even managed to capture a rainbow in the mist.
We finally made it back to the depot.
I made my way off the train and practically ran to the crossroads where the train would pass. I wanted to capture it as it went by, blowing its whistle. And, of course, I wanted to see if anyone would be willing to wave.
Some did, including the conductors, trainmen, or whatever the proper technical terms are. I'm not sure what all the titles are, but they were people helping out with the train and keeping everything running.
The train was gone, and now it was time for me to make my way to Rapid City to run a couple of errands.
GET OUTTA DODGE
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One of the errands was for groceries. I had heard that the grocery store in Wall, SD, didn't have a lot of items like the big-box stores, so I figured I should stock up on necessary goods.
I also stopped at Best Buy to pick up another portable hard drive—for backups and in case my current one filled up.
The drive to Wall wouldn't be too long, so I tried to get out of Rapid City as quickly as possible.
In other words, get outta Dodge.
When you've been visiting places where the population hasn't been like an over-populated city, you tend to become claustrophobic once you hit busy cities.
I was getting irritable and impatient, so I got in the car and made my way east.
ARRIVING IN WALL
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I finally arrived in the small town of Wall.
Not much around there.
I looked at my map to find out where this popular Wall Drug was located. I wasn't planning to stop here, but I figured, why not? It's a popular tourist spot, and I had some time before I could check into my room at the Best Western.
Okay.
What did I just say about being claustrophobic?
SO. MANY. PEOPLE.
Wall Drug was like an indoor mall. It contained a lot of different shops, from leather goods to food to cosmetic items.
Although it was an interesting place, it just wasn't for me. I didn't go on a road trip to be around crowds of people.
I did a quick walkthrough and found a place that sold ice cream. I bought a small cup of mint chocolate chip ice cream and walked down the main strip for a few minutes—just long enough to finish most of my ice cream.
It was good, but not as good as the one I would have a few days down the road.
I'll talk about that in a future blog.
CHECKING INTO THE HOTEL
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Oh, look. The time.
I headed over to the Best Western to check into my room. I noticed that the hotel was two stories, and I hoped to get one on the first floor because of all of my crap—the cooler, luggage, and camera gear.
The lady at the front desk was welcoming and told me that my room was on the second floor.
Oh no!
Balloon deflated.
I asked her if it would be possible to get a room on the ground floor because of all the gear I had. This hotel didn't have an elevator, so be prepared to haul any heavy crap you have up a flight of stairs.
Thankfully, the lady was nice enough to switch out my second-floor room for a first-floor one.
I couldn't have thanked her enough.
I entered my room, and although it was a nice place, it smelled musty. Thankfully, I had brought my lavender oil diffuser. If you had read my first blog about what I packed, you would have remembered that I packed everything but the kitchen sink.
The A/C was on because, during my entire trip so far, it had been quite warm, with temperatures ranging from the mid-80s to low 90s.
I'm used to humidity, and my skin wasn't too keen on this dry heat.
I was turning into a lizard.
My skin was getting cracked, even after lathering on lotion and lip balm.
The other thing I noticed about South Dakota was their VERY soft water. So soft that when you use shampoo or soap, it feels as though you can never get clean.
The tub would feel so slick that I would have to slowly step out of the tub after taking a shower so that I wouldn't slip.
It was the craziest thing.
All in all, I couldn't complain. There was a comfortable bed—two queens—a fridge that actually kept my food cold, including a small freezer for my ice pack, a microwave oven, and a table with two chairs.
I threw all my things into the room, after taking a photo, of course, and headed out to the one place I was really looking forward to checking out.
FINALLY, THE BADLANDS
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The Badlands National Park.
I've heard so many great things about this park that I couldn't wait to see what was in store.
I was actually here to participate in a photo workshop. For the next four nights, starting the next day, I would be photographing the park and learning some new techniques.
Weeks prior, I had asked people participating in the workshop if they would be interested in joining me in capturing the sunset and possibly shooting the Milky Way.
I had heard from only one person—a lady I met at an Alaska workshop the year prior.
PRAIRIE DOGS...AGAIN
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I drove down 240 toward the park and noticed my first wildlife.
Yep.
More prairie dogs.
If I didn't have other plans, I would have probably just sat there and photographed them until the sun went down.
They're so cute and squeaky.
But back to the story.
THE FIRST LOOK
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I checked in using my annual America the Beautiful pass and made my way over to Pinnacles Overlook.
I parked the car and got out to make my way down the path.
But before I did that, the first sign I saw read:
“BEWARE — RATTLESNAKES”
Ugh.
Prairie rattlesnakes.
I didn't want to encounter any of those because I had heard the antivenom can be pretty costly for every dose needed.
I went down the walkway and took in the scenery.
Wow.
The geology of the place was just beautiful. It was different from any place I'd seen before.
DOWN SAGE CREEK RIM ROAD
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I then moved on to Sage Creek Rim Road.
Not a paved road. Just dirt and gravel.
I had considered doing a quick car wash before coming to the Badlands, but I'm glad I didn't. At the end of this trip, my car looked like I had gone through a sand dune.
I stopped at Hay Butte Overlook, which was where I planned to shoot the sunset. I took a quick look and then drove farther down the road.
More overlooks.
I eventually arrived at Roberts Prairie Dog Town.
More people than I wanted to be around, so I drove a little farther to Sage Creek Basin Overlook.
I really enjoyed this place.
Nobody around, for at least a few minutes.
It was just peaceful.
Until others showed up.
It was time for me to leave.
WAITING FOR SUNSET
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I headed back to Hay Butte Overlook, which was where I was planning to shoot my sunset. I got set up, took some pictures, and waited.
As I sat there waiting, more and more people arrived to witness this evening's sun.
I had thought about going elsewhere, but I wasn't in the mood, so I stuck it out.
I saw another man walking around taking photos, but I just minded my own business. After about 20 minutes of being there, the man finally came up to me and asked if I was so-and-so.
“No, but I'm Julie.”
That's when he realized I was the one who had texted everyone about meeting here if they wanted.
His response?
"Oh, so you kept your promise."
I laughed and thought, Why wouldn't I keep my promise? I thought it was strange. If I say I would be somewhere, why would I not show up without telling anyone?
I'm here to take photographs, so I need to take advantage of every single day. Even if I'm exhausted.
We hung out and clicked away, but the sunset wasn't that epic.
Again.
And, to top it off, the clouds weren't cooperating. It wouldn't be a great Milky Way evening, so I decided to pack it in and head back to the hotel to get some much-needed sleep.
