Wed., I took a back road to Keystone, the tourist trap of a town just N of Mt. Rushmore, and then took a drive partway down Iron Mt. Road, a road that is very windy, twisty at the N end; and that leads into the NE part of Custer Park. I hadn't been on either road in some time...
This is the view of Mt. Rushmore from the N end of Iron Mt. Road; it's a lot further away than it appears. The N end of Iron Mt. Rd. has the 'famous' piggy-tail switch-backs where the road turns sharply while going downhill, over a couple bridges. There are also 3 small tunnels on the N end of the route.
Bottle gentian, growing near Dakota Lake (see today's header pic). Not listed as a wildflower in my Black Hills 'Bible' but the E field guide says it can be found from Nebraska to N Dakota, and S Dakota is inbetween the two states so....I'd say it's fairly uncommon in the Black Hills.
An interesting orange insect...possibly future fish bait...still trying to ID this...
The colors of this dragonfly blend perfectly with the dead houndstongue it stands on. Not having luck trying to ID it.
This is the view of Mt. Rushmore from the N end of Iron Mt. Road; it's a lot further away than it appears. The N end of Iron Mt. Rd. has the 'famous' piggy-tail switch-backs where the road turns sharply while going downhill, over a couple bridges. There are also 3 small tunnels on the N end of the route.
Bottle gentian, growing near Dakota Lake (see today's header pic). Not listed as a wildflower in my Black Hills 'Bible' but the E field guide says it can be found from Nebraska to N Dakota, and S Dakota is inbetween the two states so....I'd say it's fairly uncommon in the Black Hills.
An interesting orange insect...possibly future fish bait...still trying to ID this...
The colors of this dragonfly blend perfectly with the dead houndstongue it stands on. Not having luck trying to ID it.
That insect may be a solitary wasp Jann ???
ReplyDeleteIt does appear very similar to a wasp, but the antennae are longer and the body isn't as segmented. I've asked for ID help at a website, hope for a quick answer.
ReplyDeleteI am not much for ID'ing bugs - they are little or bit to me. But I love dragonflies.
ReplyDeleteThe wings on the insect and dragonfly are so different...one like sections of stain glass...the other like netting...love to enlage your photos Jann...
ReplyDelete