A newly paved stretch of Highway 44 cuts through the rugged formations near Scenic, South Dakota, beneath a vivid summer sky. This east–west route skirts the southern boundary of Badlands National Park, where blacktop meets eroded buttes carved by millennia of wind and water. The low-angle view emphasizes the contrast between the engineered precision of the highway and the raw geologic textures of the surrounding landscape—an enduring symbol of travel through one of the Great Plains’ most striking natural corridors.

Amazing storm clouds rolling into Interior, South Dakota at our camp site near the Badlands National Park. It seems every year we get at least one really great thunderstorm when camping.

The Tatanka Trading Post in Scenic, South Dakota, stands as a weathered relic of roadside commerce along the gateway to Badlands National Park. Once a small but lively hub for travelers and locals, the post’s peeling white paint and simple gabled design speak to decades of wind, sun, and changing times on the Great Plains. The name Tatanka—Lakota for “bison”—reflects the deep cultural ties of the region’s Indigenous heritage and the area’s rugged frontier identity. Today, the building endures as a quiet landmark of rural South Dakota’s layered history.