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The Badlands in Winter

Thousands of visitors pass through Badlands National Park during the summer months, but swing through during winter and you see a different side. Sioux Falls photographer Scott Korsten drove the Badlands Loop Road in early February, a day of constantly changing weather and scenery.”It was a quiet day, and I was nearly alone in the park,” he says.”With its colored layers slightly frosted in snow, every turn in the road provided a new perspective to appreciate. These were just the type of scenes I’d hoped to see and as usual, the park did not disappoint.” Here are a few photos from that day.

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A Bouquet of Easter Flowers

Sioux Falls photographer and avid pasqueflower hunter Christian Begeman was shooting photos in the Cave Hills last spring when he noticed a mass of pasques gone to seed. This week, he paid a return visit to northern Harding County in the hopes of capturing the delicate purple blooms.”I thought I got skunked, but then I saw a lone purple spot of color on a ridge just beyond the Forest Service Picnic campgrounds and discovered fifty-plus flowers just starting to poke through.” He decided to share those blossoms with us in honor of the holiday. Happy Easter!

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Bookin’ It Through the Badlands

Photographer Scott Korsten and his wife Marilyn recently discovered that it pays to take it easy when traveling across South Dakota. “My wife and I were on a quick business-related trip to the Black Hills area,” Korsten says. “Although we were driving with purpose, trying to make good time, we decided to take the quick detour through the Badlands…a place we hadn’t actually driven through for several years. We were reminded of just how vast and beautiful this area of the state’s interior really is — well worth the extra time it took for our trip.”

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A Capitol Christmas

Christmas at the Capitol has been a holiday tradition in Pierre since 1981 when volunteers decorated 12 trees. This year, nearly 90 brilliantly-lighted and specially-themed trees fill the rotunda and hallways on three floors. Visitors can peruse the trees from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily through December 26. Musicians from around the state provide entertainment through Friday, Dec. 23. The remaining schedule includes:

Wednesday, Dec. 20

Harrisburg High School Choir, 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.

Julie Willoughby piano students, 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Tiffany Sanderson (piano), 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Ron Smith (piano), Jeff Spect (vocals) and Lori Hall (bells), 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 21

Rapid City Stevens High School Choir and Orchestra, 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 22

Andrea Royer (vocals and piano), 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.

Jared Holzhauer (piano), 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Ron Smith (piano) and Joey Garrett (classical guitar), 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Photos by Bernie Hunhoff

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Stories Beneath the Stones

Six national cemeteries lie within South Dakota’s borders: Black Hills National Cemetery, Fort Meade National Cemetery, Hot Springs National Cemetery, Akicita Owicahe Veterans Cemetery (Rosebud), Akicita Owicahe Lakota Freedom Veterans Cemetery (Pine Ridge) and the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate National Cemetery near Sisseton. Our November/December issue features a story about them and a new initiative through Black Hills State University in Spearfish that seeks to uncover the stories behind the men and women who are buried within these hallowed grounds. Our photographers traveled the state to gather images from each cemetery. Here are a few more that didn’t fit into the magazine.

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The Lutefisk Tradition

Our November/December issue features the annual lutefisk supper in Summit, a town of about 290 people in southern Roberts County. Hundreds of people headed for Summit on Nov. 4 for the town’s 79th such gathering. Managing Editor John Andrews traveled to Summit for last year’s supper with a camera, notebook and an empty stomach. Here are a few extra photos that didn’t make the magazine.

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Artists of Mobridge

Our September/October issue includes an article on the artists and art collections of Mobridge. The city of 3,500 in Walworth County is famous for fishing and ranching, but it has also wrangled sculptures and paintings by some of the West’s preeminent artists. Bernie Hunhoff traveled to the Missouri River town last summer to explore and take photos — too many to print. Here are some that didn’t make the magazine.

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Fall Roundup

Around 20,000 spectators were on hand to watch the 52nd annual Custer State Park Buffalo Roundup last Friday. Park employees and volunteers gathered about 1,200 bison into corrals to be branded, vaccinated and checked for pregnancy. Around 400 bison will be auctioned off on November 18 to keep herd numbers manageable. Photos by John Mitchell.

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Spearfish Canyon Color

The highway through Spearfish Canyon is a favorite fall drive for many South Dakotans and out of state visitors. Jerry Boyer, who has tracked the progression of fall colors in Spearfish Canyon for more than 20 years, predicts Wednesday will be the peak day to view the full rhapsody of fall colors — especially the reds of the sumac, nanny berry, wild grape and ivy. But beware the alluring red leaves near the ground; they are poison ivy.

John Mitchell visited the canyon this past weekend. Here are some of his photos.