This will be my last daily post for a bit. As we return to Fort Wayne, we will be catching up with family and friends and figuring out the next stage of our lives. I hope you have enjoyed the last nineteen weeks of photos that documented our adventure from Texas to South Dakota. Stay tuned for what's next!!

I took this photograph last month at dusk in Great Falls, Montana. The unusual sky color is caused by wildfire smoke in the air.

#montana #wildfires #greatfalls

We have only been out the Black Hills one day and I miss them! As we head toward sea level (aka Indiana), the fields have turned to corn and beans and the temperature has risen. Maybe it's time to start planning the next trip... 😁

I took this photograph at the end of May at dusk near St. Mary, Montana.

#montana #glaciernationalpark

For #ThrowBackThursday, I'd like to go back six years to our visit to the Nubble Lighthouse in York, Maine. This iconic 41 foot lighthouse is one of the most photographed lighthouses in New England. The island is closed to the public and visitors must be content with photographing it from shore.

#maine #lighthouse

One of the unexpected finds in the Badlands National Park were the yellow mounds. After driving through miles of browns and beiges, these were spectacular. The colors represent the different types of sediment that settled here at different times. We were told that you need to come see them now as they will all be washed away in approximately 500,000 years.

#southdakota #badlands #yellowmounds

We took a day trip into Badlands National Park today... and it was amazing. One of the kids commented that they now understood how they film movies that look like another planet. We saw a herd of Buffalo, several Bighorn Sheep, a Pronghorn and lots of Prairie Dogs. The highlight, though, was the eroded landscape.

#badlands #southdakota #nationalpark

Since entering Montana and the Dakotas, I have never seen so many machines decorating fields–construction equipment, farm implements, cars, tractors and even fire trucks. Other places collect old machines, but this area of the country raises the bar. The Mercury Montego at our campground appears to be from the '68-'71 timeframe.

#monochromemonday #southdakota #mercury

This little chipmunk came within a few inches of me begging for food when I sat down to rest at a falls on a recent hike. With so many signs for people not to feed the wildlife, I don't understand why people still do.

#montana #chipmunk #dontfeedthewildlife

The Black Hills mountain range are so named because of how the pine trees make them look dark from a distance. Black Elk Peak (7244 feet) is the highest peak east of the Rockies. I was always curious why the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally was such a big draw being in the middle of South Dakota. Now being in the area, I understand. It is beautiful.

#southdakota #blackhills

With our arrival today in South Dakota, I have now visited all fifty states– the last four this year. Many I have just skimmed the surface; some I have explored for a month or longer. But I think that the state I would most like to explore more of is Alaska. Maybe next summer. :)

#mountrushmore #southdakota #sd