Prairie Chicken Hunt

If anyone is traveling through South Dakota, they must stop at the Pierre National Grassland. What's there? This:


But there's more than meets the eye...


That was a Sharp-tailed Grouse, but my real quarry was the aptly named Greater Prairie Chicken. I only got a brief view of two as they flushed from the grass, flying at least a kilometer! They were shy for good reason: it was hunting season. I figured I better move on before I become hunted.

As I discoved more and more the awesomemess of the prairies, the howling winds were insane (the weather said there were 75km/h gusts - I'm not lying!). Amid the flurry of wind, my camera actually popped open and the battery pack was forever lost in the prairie grasses. Then I found 6 baby rattlesnakes.

What did I do? I drove the the nearby town of Pierre and called dad. He checked out buisnesses in the area. You're not gonna find a Panasonic FZ-35 battery pack in the middle of South Dakota. Well, it turns out, in Rapid City, about 1 hour off my journey's track, there's actually a store that sells just batteries! I bought 2.