SUMMER
2 0 11
US PALETTE
A trip advisor to Coyote State !! The season changes and it’s a ritual of life, and our moods too incline for trips and lot more fun activities. It so happened on the Memorial Day weekend too. A plan suddenly chalked out on the day before, six of us set on a trip to Mt. Rushmore & Badlands. The Western Region of South Dakota, comprising Black Hills, Badlands and the Lakes region, which has a lot to offer for a three day trip. The whole place is surrounded by majestic granite spikes, pine covered mountains and sharp rock outcrops. The drive to Mt. Rushmore was so scenic and breathtaking. There is no better picture as Nature itself. The national monument at Mt Rushmore has a sculpture carved out of Granite Mountain, depicting the former United States Presidents, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. We then headed towards the scenic Needles Highway to the Sylvan Lake & Custer Park. Sylvan Lake is an extra-ordinary landscape. The rocks which lay on the ends of the water give it a unique appearance, yet unquestionably underline the fact that we are in the Black Hills. It is a location that can provide nearly any recreation you're wishing for. This is the best and apt place for bringing kids for their excursions. The drive to Custer Park was enjoyable and in the park we could takes a closer look at animals like wild buffalos, prairie dogs, burros, and deer’s as they walk along the roads or they graze in the open grass-
lands. It is always nice to discover places and nicer to discover new routes to the places. Leaving aside the little stress that prevailed while losing our way to the Badlands, we found it amusing and amazing all along the roads, watching the beautiful landscape with literally no vegetation and only peaks of sand. We reached on time, to enjoy the marvelous sun set! The beautiful orange rays falling on the sedimentary rocks of different shapes, canyons, ravines, threw a wide range of colors. The colors alternate from dark black/blue coal strips to bright clays to red sand. The whole place was fascinating and you can’t doubt the skill of the eternal creator. In Bear country, a good number of bears walked side by side with us. The teddy bear dolls that we have at home are just less good looking than the real ones, I can vouch. We also visited Cosmos, a place where Newton’s theory of gravitation has to be recollected and thought of. A house built crooked on the top of the hill tried to defy the force of gravity and we can feel mysterious forces against us. Is it a true natural phenomenon or an illusion? I couldn’t conclude, however a good place to visit. On the way back to Omaha, we visited the world’s only Corn Palace in Mitchell. The whole trip was fun and proved that nature is the best entertainer on the earth!!
Krishnaveni Rengaraj
21