Summer Safari

Aug 15, 2024

By Christian Begeman

Late June and early July in South Dakota never cease to surprise. A drive on the last Sunday in June and a three-day trip to see family over the Fourth of July provided more photos than I can share here. That’s largely because of my habit of only traveling the back roads, which sometimes causes consternation for those waiting on my arrival. I’ve learned to keep schedules loose and a cell phone handy. The only predictable thing about me is my unpredictable route and drive time. The interstate serves its purposes, but it’s not the way to go if you’re looking for scenery.

The word “safari” is a Swahili word meaning “journey.” It has evolved over time to describe a trip to hunt or see the African “big five,” but I like the broader idea of “taking a trip” much better. Taking a trip to find wildflowers is not something my teenager self would have bet on, but now that I’m a wandering photographer in my spare time, finding and photographing wildflowers is high on my list. These trips often branch out into great adventures that are totally unpredicted, which is precisely what happened on my trip from Mobridge to Sioux Falls on July 6.

I purposely took Highway 10 from Mound City to the Sica Hollow turn just west of Sisseton. The road goes through amazing prairie pothole country between Eureka and Leola and Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge west of Hecla. Wildlife and birds are abundant. I’ve seen breathtaking pasqueflower patches in the hills of McPherson County and often take a side trip on the gravel roads near the Ordway Prairie Reserve just to take in the wide-open prairie experience. This year, I’ve seen foxes along that route: an adult near a den around Easter and two kits playing in the tall grass in early July.

Before going through Sisseton, I turned north of Highway 10 toward Sica Hollow State Park. Pop-up thunderstorms had begun to do their thing, and I got there in between showers. Deer flies and mosquitos quickly reminded me that I was out of insect repellent. From there I headed toward Summit and the backroads south of town to look for wildflowers in the prairie hills of Grant County. Another rain shower gave me a free car wash for nearly 10 minutes straight. Normally this would dampen my mood, but the radar showed clearing skies behind the last line of showers. Since it was late afternoon, that meant the possibility of rainbows.

By the time I made it to central Deuel County, a vivid rainbow began to form in the east as the low sunlight broke through the cloud cover and shone into the last of the rainfall. I chased that rainbow from Deuel County through Brookings and into Moody County, stopping now and again when a foreground scene lent itself to accentuating the beauty. Rainbows are one of the more ephemeral things to photograph. All the factors that make one seem to change as you set up to shoot. Clouds moving and rain starting and stopping make a rainbow chase one of the more fun yet frustrating things I do with my camera. Maybe that is why I like it so much. If there are rainbows, it’s a good bet I’ll be chasing them.

Christian Begeman grew up in Isabel and now lives in Sioux Falls. When he's not working at Midco he is often on the road photographing South Dakota’s prettiest spots. Follow Begeman on his blog.