We recently took a group to a range in South Dakota to shoot for Marksman and Sharpshooter badges, and while we were there I spotted something I just had to share. See it yet? If so, you’ve got a good eye.

See what I did there? Yeah, another dad joke. But I could stump you if I asked you where this is. Especially since it isn’t even in North Dakota! Thankfully I was able to get a break for some photography a while back. It’s taking me forever to get around to reviewing and posting the results, though!

Sadly, this autumn has been brief, cold, and gray…and I’ve been way too busy to get out.  But last year was perhaps the best photo fall I’ve ever had.  Worth reposting.  Six posts in all, I believe.  Here’s the first.

I took Monday off and roamed around a little bit with a shot list I’d been working on for a few days prior, and I must say I had a very fruitful time. While many of the shots I got have some lovely fall foliage in them, I haven’t taken the time to process those yet. I’ve got quite a backlog of photo and video work projects that I need to get done, so personal stuff is going to have to hold off for a bit. But I did manage to stop for some shots of trees along the way…

I love the gold and green here. Could have used a little red, but that’s going to be in Part Two of this little series.

I nabbed a couple angles of this shot, one being behind this one a little way and illustrating the curve of the road differently. But I ultimately chose this one. I might have to take another look at the other shot for Part Two as well.

This had lots of green and lots of gold…but the setting sun made the green a little hard to pick out.

I have a few more coming, so stay tuned!

This is one pole who will not let six feet of erosion change the fact that these wires need to be held up.  I caught it right away as I rolled past.  It doesn’t show any sign of falling down on the job any time soon!

If you let yourself get distracted by that wonderful butte in the distance, or the view of the Missouri River valley past it, you might not even notice the little Fallen Farm tucked away in the trees on the lower left.

I haven’t asked for permission to enter this property yet, but it looks quite promising!  This is in a rather picturesque part of the county, where a guy with a camera could roam for a few days and not run out of ideas.  Although I may wish to wait until the snow melts next year before venturing off this way, even with my truck’s nigh invulnerability.

The last time I was in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park, I watched (and felt) a storm roll in while standing atop the Wind River Overlook.  I had trekked into the park before sunrise, getting one of my favorite sunrise photos EVER after slogging up the Little Missouri on foot for a ways, and was using my early-bird status to mosey around the park before the tourists arrived.

This area, while far different from the Rocky Mountains I enjoyed as a kid, makes me homesick for them nonetheless.  It seems that even in North Dakota the skies get bigger the further west you go.  I’d love to take a week or two and simply work the park, going back to Medora only for some shut-eye at night and fresh bacon in the morning!  Let’s put that on the bucket list.

After getting way too deep into a maintenance project on my ATV and successfully reassembling it with no leftover parts, I decided to bolt up to a friend’s farm and try to catch a sunset.  The sky the evening before had been awash in beautiful purples and reds, which I witnessed while riding one of the motorcycles around the outskirts of town.  I figured there was a decent chance of some nice colors on this night, too.  I wasn’t disappointed.

The reasonI chose to dash to this farm was the fact that the head of the windmill looked to have sustained some damage, and I wanted to photograph it before it got worse.  I’d had this farm in my GPS literally for years, but never actually asked if I could stop by some time.  I’m glad I picked this week to do it!

I got a little closer for this shot, but the wind was starting to pick up and cause all kinds of turbulence near the head of the windmill.  Things were starting to get rowdy up there, so I decided to play it safe and not fly any closer.

This was a fantastic photo trip!  The timing was right, I got to reconnect with a guy who I haven’t been able to chat with in a long time, the skies were good, and the windmill subject has unique character.  It will be repaired in the near future, too.  That’sgoodnews  ; too many of these old windmills that I’ve photograhed over the years are now gone.  I’m glad someone else sees their value and wants to preserve (and photograph) them!