Photo travel advice for South Dakota

Hi! Guys,

I am planning a short trip to South Dakota during this weekend. Rough plan is to spend one day in Badland national park and one day in Windcave National Park, Custer State Park and etc. Following are my photo travel questions:
1.What are the must-go sunrise and sunset locations in Badland National Park?
I saw some nice sunrise pics taken at Badland NP that are claimed to be photoed at "Cedar Pass". However, I checked the park map which indicated no view point as "Cedar Pass" .Following are the links of those photos:
http://www.terragalleria.com/parks/np-image.badl0588.html
http://www.terragalleria.com/parks/np-image.badl0586.html
Could you identify what's the location of this place in the park? Thanks.

2. What are other photo travel tips for early summer trip in SD?

Thanks for your help

Kevin L. Li
http://www.pbase.com/photohead

The bugs right now (buffalo gnats) are just horrible in the eastern part of the state. Don't know about the western half. DEET/mosquito spray won't even slow them down. I use netting. The mosquitos are now out but in low concentration. Southwest SD has a high incidence of West Nile Fever though, so do use spray for mosquitos. There are baby antelope & deer out now. The three waterfalls should be going very nicely now that the snow is mostly melted off. These are Roughlock, Bridal Veil, and Spearfish Falls. Watch for poison ivy around Bridal Veil. To get nice shots of Badlands at sunrise, you generally need to be on the eastern end and south of the wall. You need to be in place while it's still dark. Consider just spending until 10 AM at Badlands and then spending as much time as possible in Custer State Park. Watch out for mountian lions if you are walking around out in the dark by yourself. Have a big flashlight. There are critters out here that can squish or eat you. Watch for rattlesnakes too. Rare, but never reach or step where you can't see. Do NOT try to pick one up.

If you only have the weekend, honestly, you'd be much better off just concentrating on Custer State Park. It has an extremely high concentration of approachable animals (do NOT approach bull buffalo) and the beautiful Needles Highway. The problem with your list is that you want to "see everything" but will end up not really seeing anything.

--->Keep some distance from buffalo. They will kill you. (Especially large bulls.)

----->Keep some distance from buffalo. They kill more people than all other critters combined.

------->Keep some distance from buffalo. They are NOT cows; think "rhino."


Kent in SD

Kent,
Thanks for your advice and tips. I am starting to feel scary about my SD trip for the bugs, snakes, mountain lions and killing-happy buffalo there

Relax, a few people here and there actually survive attacks. Seriously though just keep your distance and your guard up then you should be fine. People that get attacked usually give animals a reason to be provoked.

Damn Kent...you almost make ME want to move away from here!!

Terry,
At least you get plenty of "approachable animal" other than birds to shoot

When my wife and I travelled through S.D. some years ago, we stopped at a visitor's center and rented an audio tape that described sites of interest as we drove along. It was very well done. The cost was nominal, with a partial refund on return of the tape at an exiting center, or by mail.

I guess that I have been lucky in my travels, but have never had anything stolen from me in third world countries. (In the US that's different.) I almost always carry my camera equipment everywhere I go, rarely leaving it in a hotel room. I never carry a bag directly over my shoulder, but make sure that the strap crosses my chest and the bag is protected under my arm. If I am carrying my camera separately, I try to keep it under my jacket until needed. When going into an area that may be dangerous, I always look directly at anyone who seems intimidating, that way they will know that I am watching them. I will cross the street regularly. This will let me know if someone is following me. I try to travel with another person whenever possible. You do not have to be a paranoiac, but just act as if you were!

Li Li--


Anywhere you go this time of year, there will be bugs. I don't know much about you or how much experience you have, so I played it safe. I've seen people actually try to pet buffalo at Custer! Snakebites are rare, and no one has yet actually been attacked in this state by mountain lions. However, every time I go out around dusk or later, I keep them in mind and take a good flashlight. By using reasonable caution you will be fine. I've seen far too many out of state tourists NOT using reasonable caution though. Are you more interested in animals or scenic stuff?


Kent in SD

Not to mention of the idiots who feed wildlife from their cars.

Kent & Richard,
Thanks for your advice. Though I am quite experienced in traveling through wild land of national parks and will travel with a couple friends this time, I totally agree we should play safe and take necessary precaution. Guess I'll buy some bug spray and bring my big flashlight. For the wild "approachable animals", I don't know if my 700-200 2.8 IS lens plus 2x extender would be enough(I guess not). But I am sure I will not risk my life for any wildlife pic since I am more a landscape photographer than a wild life one

Again, thanks your guys for your inputs.