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Lake Michigan in Kewaunee, Wisconsin outside the Kewaunee Power Station nuclear power plant.

Lake Michigan outside Nuclear Power Plant

Lake Michigan in Kewaunee, Wisconsin outside the Kewaunee Power Station nuclear power plant.

Lake, Lake Michigan, Wisconsin
The Kewaunee Power Station is a decommissioned nuclear power plant, located on a 900 acres (360 ha) plot in the town of Carlton, Wisconsin, 27 miles (43 km) southeast of Green Bay, Wisconsin in Kewaunee County, and south of the city of Kewaunee. KPS was the fourth nuclear power plant built in Wisconsin, and the 44th built in the United States. Due to falling electricity prices resulting from the falling price of natural gas, the plant ceased operation May 7, 2013.

Kewaunee Power Station and Lake Michigan

The Kewaunee Power Station is a decommissioned nuclear power plant, located on a 900 acres (360 ha) plot in the…

Kewaunee, Kewaunee Nuclear Power, Kewaunee Nuclear Power Plant, Lake, Lake Michigan, Nuclear Power, Nuclear Power Plant, Power Plant, Wisconsin
Lake of the Isles and Bde Maka Ska in Minneapolis.

Lake of the Isles and Bde Maka Ska in Minneapolis

Lake of the Isles and Bde Maka Ska in Minneapolis.

Bde Maka Ska, Downtown Skyline, Lake of the Isles, Minneapolis, Minnesota, South Minneapolis, Southwest Minneapolis, Uptown Minneapolis
Early morning fog drifts across Sylvan Lake in the Black Hills of South Dakota, softening the granite spires and reflecting still light off the water’s surface. Created in 1891 by Theodore Reder’s dam, the lake sits at the head of the scenic Needles Highway and is surrounded by granite formations that attract climbers, photographers, and hikers. On this mist-covered morning, visibility narrows to the immediate shoreline, turning the familiar outcrops into shadowed silhouettes. The calm water and diffused light capture a rare quiet moment in one of Custer State Park’s most iconic and photographed landscapes.

Fog Over Sylvan Lake, Black Hills, South Dakota

Early morning fog drifts across Sylvan Lake in the Black Hills of South Dakota, softening the granite spires and reflecting…

Custer State Park, Fog, Lake, South Dakota, Sylvan Lake
Carved directly through a narrow granite spire in the Black Hills, the Needles Eye Tunnel stands as one of South Dakota’s most distinctive engineering feats. Completed in 1922 as part of the Needles Highway (SD 87), the one-lane tunnel measures just 8 feet 4 inches wide and 11 feet 3 inches high, requiring careful navigation by passing vehicles. Its name comes from the adjacent rock formation, where centuries of wind and water erosion sculpted a sharp, needle-like opening. Surrounded by dense ponderosa pine forest and sheer stone walls, this section of the highway offers one of the most dramatic mountain drives in the American Midwest, linking the spire formations of Custer State Park with the scenic byways leading toward Sylvan Lake and Mount Rushmore.

Needles Eye Tunnel, Custer State Park

Carved directly through a narrow granite spire in the Black Hills, the Needles Eye Tunnel stands as one of South…

Needles Eye Tunnel, Needles Highway, South Dakota, Tunnel
The Needles of the Black Hills of South Dakota are a region of eroded granite pillars, towers, and spires within Custer State Park. Popular with rock climbers and tourists alike, the Needles are accessed from the Needles Highway, which is a part of Sylvan Lake Road (SD 87/89). The Cathedral Spires and Limber Pine Natural Area, a 637-acre portion of the Needles containing six ridges of pillars as well as a disjunct stand of limber pine, was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1976. -- Wikipedia

Needles Eye Tunnel

The Needles of the Black Hills of South Dakota are a region of eroded granite pillars, towers, and spires within…

Needles Eye Tunnel, Needles Highway, South Dakota, Tunnel
A bison cow stands watch over her calf in the rolling meadows of Custer State Park, South Dakota. Each spring, the park’s herd welcomes hundreds of reddish-brown calves, often called “red dogs,” whose lighter coats gradually darken as they mature. The park maintains roughly 1,300 animals within its 71,000-acre reserve, a landscape of prairie and ponderosa pine forest that mirrors the natural habitat once spanning the Great Plains. This scene reflects both the resilience of the American bison and the conservation success that brought the species back from near extinction in the early 20th century.

Bison Cow and Calf, Custer State Park

A bison cow stands watch over her calf in the rolling meadows of Custer State Park, South Dakota. Each spring,…

American Buffalo, Animal, Bison, Custer State Park, South Dakota
An American bison stands along the Wildlife Loop Road in Custer State Park, South Dakota, illuminated by the first light of morning. The park’s herd, one of the largest managed populations in the country, roams freely across a landscape that mirrors the open grasslands once dominated by millions of these animals before the 19th-century decline. Bison are a keystone species of the Great Plains ecosystem, their grazing patterns shaping the prairie’s biodiversity. At Custer, annual roundups and controlled management preserve both the health of the land and the continuation of a lineage deeply tied to Native history and American conservation.

Bison at Dawn, Custer State Park

An American bison stands along the Wildlife Loop Road in Custer State Park, South Dakota, illuminated by the first light…

American Buffalo, Animal, Bison, Custer State Park, South Dakota
A mature American bison grazes in the rolling prairie of Custer State Park in South Dakota, part of one of the largest publicly owned herds in the United States. Once on the brink of extinction, the park’s bison herd—established in 1914—now numbers more than a thousand animals, representing a critical effort in the preservation of the species. These massive mammals, capable of weighing over a ton, roam freely across the park’s 71,000 acres of mixed-grass prairie and ponderosa pine forest. The setting reflects both the ecological restoration of the Great Plains and the enduring legacy of America’s native megafauna, which has been tied to the land for millennia.

American Bison at Custer State Park

A mature American bison grazes in the rolling prairie of Custer State Park in South Dakota, part of one of…

American Buffalo, Animal, Bison, Custer State Park, South Dakota
Bison in Custer State Park in Custer, South Dakota.

Bison in Custer

Bison in Custer State Park in Custer, South Dakota.

American Buffalo, Animal, Bison, Custer State Park, South Dakota
Sylvan Lake is a lake located in Custer State Park, in the Black Hills of South Dakota, United States. It was created in 1881 when Theodore Reder built a dam (the Sylvan Lake Water Dam) across Sunday Gulch Creek. The lake area offers picnic places, rock climbing, small rental boats, swimming, and hiking trails. It is also popular as a starting point for excursions to Black Elk Peak and The Needles. -- Wikipedia

Sylvan Lake

Sylvan Lake is a lake located in Custer State Park, in the Black Hills of South Dakota, United States. It…

Custer State Park, South Dakota, Sylvan Lake
Along Highway 87 in the central Black Hills National Forest, this view captures the rugged landscape typical of the region’s granite highlands. Massive weathered outcrops rise sharply from the forest floor, remnants of the ancient Harney Peak granite formation that underlies much of this terrain. Scattered ponderosa pines cling to crevices in the rock, while fallen trunks and new saplings trace the slow recovery of the forest from past fires. The setting lies near the scenic Needles Highway corridor—an area known for its narrow tunnels, steep grades, and ever-changing mountain light that defines the wilderness character of western South Dakota.

Granite Outcrops Along Highway 87, Black Hills National Forest

Along Highway 87 in the central Black Hills National Forest, this view captures the rugged landscape typical of the region’s…

Custer State Park, South Dakota
An abandoned mine in South Dakota near the Black Hills.

South Dakota mine

An abandoned mine in South Dakota near the Black Hills.

Abandoned, Mine, Mine shaft, South Dakota
Carved into a rugged slope of weathered schist and limestone, this small mine entrance sits near the historic mining corridors west of Custer, South Dakota — a remnant of the Black Hills’ 19th-century gold rush. The opening, likely hand-dug or expanded with early blasting techniques, leads into mineral-rich rock layers once prospected for gold, silver, and iron sulfides that fueled the regional boom of the 1870s. Surrounding the portal are piles of tailings and fractured quartz veins that reveal the area’s geologic complexity — part of an ancient mountain uplift more than 1.8 billion years old. Today, the forest has begun to reclaim the site, with pines and brush growing over the spoil heaps, blending traces of human industry back into the Black Hills landscape.

Abandoned Mine Entrance, Black Hills National Forest

Carved into a rugged slope of weathered schist and limestone, this small mine entrance sits near the historic mining corridors…

Abandoned, Mine, Mine shaft, South Dakota
Evening light breaks through heavy clouds to illuminate the Needles, a cluster of towering granite spires rising above dense pine forest in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The sharp pinnacles, part of Custer State Park’s Cathedral Spires formation, are composed of eroded granite that dates back more than a billion years, sculpted by time and weather into their distinctive vertical forms. This region, accessible by the winding Needles Highway, is both a geological marvel and a spiritual landscape—its rugged skyline long revered by the Lakota Sioux and later celebrated by photographers, climbers, and travelers drawn to the surreal beauty of South Dakota’s mountain heartland.

The Needles at Sunset, Black Hills, South Dakota

Evening light breaks through heavy clouds to illuminate the Needles, a cluster of towering granite spires rising above dense pine…

Black Elk Peak, Black Hills, Clouds, South Dakota, The Needles
A hiker descends the rugged granite path from Black Elk Peak, the highest summit in South Dakota, as the evening light softens over the Cathedral Spires. The trail—part of the Norbeck Wildlife Preserve within Custer State Park—winds through a landscape shaped by ancient uplift and erosion, where ponderosa pines cling to stone outcrops and fire-scarred trunks bear witness to the region’s cycles of renewal. From this vantage point, the Black Hills stretch endlessly toward the horizon, a place sacred to the Lakota people and enduringly wild in its beauty.

Descent from Black Elk Peak at Dusk

A hiker descends the rugged granite path from Black Elk Peak, the highest summit in South Dakota, as the evening…

Black Elk Peak, Hike, Hiking, Mountain, South Dakota
At the summit of Black Elk Peak, low clouds roll through the granite spires and dense pine forest below, wrapping the mountain in a shifting veil of fog. The historic stone fire tower, built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, stands as a testament to early forest conservation in the Black Hills. From this vantage point—the highest in South Dakota—views often stretch into Wyoming and Nebraska, but on misty mornings like this one, the world feels confined to the mountaintop itself, suspended between rock and cloud.

Summit Fog on Black Elk Peak

At the summit of Black Elk Peak, low clouds roll through the granite spires and dense pine forest below, wrapping…

Black Elk Peak, Black Hills, Fog, South Dakota
Low clouds sweep across the granite pinnacles of the Cathedral Spires in the Black Hills of South Dakota, wrapping the rugged landscape in drifting fog just after dawn. These towering formations—some rising more than 5,000 feet above sea level—are part of the Needles range within Custer State Park, a region shaped by millions of years of erosion and uplift. The rock spires, composed primarily of Harney Peak granite, are a hallmark of the park’s dramatic geology and a favorite destination for climbers and photographers. On mornings like this, the fog often settles in the valleys below, creating a fleeting illusion of islands floating above the forest, while the peaks catch the first light breaking through the storm-heavy sky.

Cathedral Spires in Morning Fog, Black Hills

Low clouds sweep across the granite pinnacles of the Cathedral Spires in the Black Hills of South Dakota, wrapping the…

Black Elk Peak, Black Hills, Cathedral Spires, Clouds, Fog, Mountain, South Dakota
Horseback riders navigate a mist-covered trail near the summit of Black Elk Peak in South Dakota’s Black Hills. The fog clings to the ponderosa pines, softening the rugged landscape that rises above Custer State Park. This peak—renamed in 2016 to honor Lakota spiritual leader Black Elk—has long served as both a place of pilgrimage and a vantage point over the vast granite formations and pine forests of the region.

Horses on Black Elk Peak in South Dakota

Horseback riders navigate a mist-covered trail near the summit of Black Elk Peak in South Dakota’s Black Hills. The fog…

Black Elk Peak, Fog, Hiking, Horse, Horseback, Mountain, Rain, South Dakota, Trail
A narrow trail winds through the fog-drenched forest of Black Elk Peak, South Dakota, as light rain dampens the granite path and pine needles. The area—part of the rugged Black Hills—sits at over 7,200 feet, the highest elevation east of the Rockies. The mist settles among ponderosa pines and spruce, creating a hushed, atmospheric climb through terrain sacred to the Lakota people and known for its sweeping, often cloud-hidden views.

Misty Trail on Black Elk Peak

A narrow trail winds through the fog-drenched forest of Black Elk Peak, South Dakota, as light rain dampens the granite…

Black Elk Peak, Fog, Hike, Hiking, Rain, South Dakota
A dense fog envelops the granite summit area of Black Elk Peak, the highest natural point in South Dakota at 7,242 feet. The rocky terrain and scattered pines of the Black Hills fade into the mist, creating an ethereal atmosphere above Custer State Park. Once known as Harney Peak, the mountain holds deep spiritual significance for the Lakota Sioux and remains a striking natural landmark where weather and history intertwine in quiet solitude.

Fog atop Black Elk Peak

A dense fog envelops the granite summit area of Black Elk Peak, the highest natural point in South Dakota at…

Black Elk Peak, Fog, Hike, Hiking, South Dakota
A fog-covered hiking trail winds through the dense pines and granite slopes of Black Elk Peak in South Dakota’s Black Hills. The path, slick with rain and scattered with stones, climbs steadily toward the summit through ponderosa pine, birch, and spruce. This mountain—sacred to the Lakota and once called Harney Peak—rises to 7,244 feet, making it the highest natural point between the Rockies and the Pyrenees. In the early morning fog, the quiet forest and damp earth lend the trail a timeless stillness, recalling centuries of spiritual and geological history beneath the mist.

Mist and Pines on the Black Elk Peak Trail

A fog-covered hiking trail winds through the dense pines and granite slopes of Black Elk Peak in South Dakota’s Black…

Black Elk Peak, Hike, Hiking, South Dakota
A mist-laden trail winds through the ponderosa pine forest near the summit of Black Elk Peak in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The fog softens the rugged terrain, reducing the visibility of distant ridges and creating a quiet, atmospheric stillness in the morning air. This area, once known as Harney Peak, stands as the highest point east of the Rocky Mountains and is a sacred place to the Lakota Sioux, where natural beauty and cultural heritage converge in the clouds.

Fog on the Black Elk Peak Trail

A mist-laden trail winds through the ponderosa pine forest near the summit of Black Elk Peak in the Black Hills…

Black Elk Peak, Clouds, Fog, Hiking, South Dakota
A dense morning fog envelops the Ponderosa pines of the Black Hills in South Dakota, softening the outlines of the forest and muting the green tones of early summer. The moisture-laden air clings to the tall trunks, creating an atmosphere of quiet stillness and mystery. This type of fog commonly forms in the higher elevations near Custer State Park and the Needles Highway, where rapid temperature shifts cause mist to settle among the rugged hillsides and conifer stands, briefly transforming the landscape into an ethereal woodland veil.

Black Elk Peak Fog in South Dakota

A dense morning fog envelops the Ponderosa pines of the Black Hills in South Dakota, softening the outlines of the…

Black Elk Peak, Black Hills, Fog, South Dakota
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