July 2, 2025 Touring

South Dakota Badlands and Black Hills

Once again, we found ourselved in-between risk areas. There was a slight risk in north-central Montana, but this area was essentially out of reach. I don't have notes, but I am thinking I made the decision to stay in Valentine based on an apparent risk of storms the following day in the Minnesota/Iowa border area, but this threat appeared much weaker when we got up in the morning, and we decided not to pursue it. The Day 2 showed severe storms in North Dakota, so a trip to Iowa for a marginal risk did not appear worthwhile.

We drove north from Valentine, got into the Badlands, skipped Wall Drug, and targeted the Black Hills for a Mount Rushmore visit. There, we took a few pictures, ate dinner, then went wading in a stream after dinner. We stayed the night in Spearfish in anticipation of a chase in North Dakota tomorrow.

Storm Prediction Center 1630 UTC Day 1 convective outlook with verification.

Here I am in the Badlands.

View over the Badlands.

In the Badlands.

In the Badlands.

Driving into the Black Hills.

A storm over Mount Rushmore.

This is the route we took.

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