Palisade State Park, South Dakota

Palisade State Park
Our Family Reunion/60th Anniversary Celebration was held at Palisade State Park in South Dakota, north of Sioux Falls.  I had never been there, but among the early photos of my Dad, there is one marked Palisades on the back, so I was looking forward to seeing the area in addition to spending time with all the relatives!  Just after sunrise one morning, I took a walk along Split Rock Creek.  It was gorgeous!  This photo is taken from the bridge shown below.

Palisade Bridge
Red granite walls line the creek.  It has a lovely sheen and reflective quality compared to all the red sandstone that I'm so used to seeing in the southwest!

Palisade Foot Path
The path was lovely too.  Mossy verges, canopies of trees and a well packed path made walking very pleasant.  In spots, a little agility was needed where there were rock steps to negotiate!

A Spot of Blue
While most of the landscape had gone to shades of brown, gold, rust and green, there was an occasional spot of color!  This lone blue flower (chicory, I believe) really stood out!

Circular Moss
The moss made beautiful patterns on the fallen trees.

Still Pool
I loved the still pools of water along the creek.

Moss on fallen tree
Everywhere I went, I noticed the wonderful moss.

Mushrooms
In one spot, I found a bright clump of mushrooms!

Lush Moss
And a little further along, a whole tree trunk covered in a carpet of lush moss!

The Palisade
I walked as far along the left side of the creek as I could.  So lovely!

Rock and Tree
The return path climbed up between the rocks, where I found this tree limb grabbing hold of the rock wall as it grew over it!


Autumn Road
Most of the oak trees here had already lost their leaves, revealing their wonderful shapes.

Creek in Palisade State Park
This small creek flows into Split Rock Creek.  All the water here moved along so peacefully and gently.    It was a delightful early morning walk!

The reunion was fabulous and as always, such a pleasure to see all the cousins and Aunts and Uncles again!

Comments

Vintage Sandy said…
I am so thrilled you shared these amazing photos simply gorgeous I'm hoping that when my hubby retires we can go see these beautiful places that you have so kindly shared keep them coming!!
Anonymous said…
So many beautiful, wonderful places here in the US. One forgets how huge we are and how vast our resources. Wonderful pictures and they have started my day off feeling so thankful. Mary
Tatkis said…
Such beautiful photos! I love them all (especially with moss, and water)
Thank you so much for sharing!

Hugs,
Tatyana
Lorraine said…
Always enjoy seeing your travel photos!
Adrienne said…
Gorgeous, as always!
~Adrienne~
Anonymous said…
Wow, you've really captured some amazing images here! Thank you so much for sharing these on your blog. If you'd like, feel free to post some of them on our Tourism facebook page, our followers would love to see them. The official fan page for South Dakota is South Dakota Tourism (www.facebook.com/southdakotatourism)

Thank you again for sharing these fantastic photos!

Katlyn Richter
SD Dept Tourism
@travelsd
Facebook - South Dakota Tourism
Jackie Schoon said…
These are stunning pictures - Yours are the most beautiful collection of photographs I have ever seen of the Palisades.

Way to go Shutterbug!

Popular Posts