Bear Butte State Park

Of the many things South Dakota is known for, the weather seems the most innocuous. However, the records for greatest temperature swing in a short period of time and largest hail tell the tale of "if you don't like the weather, wait a minute" better than any other place I've ever lived. During a recent afternoon trip up to Bear Butte State Park, the contrast from west to east was palpable.

The left and right of this panoramic shot are facing east, the center is facing west.

Sometimes, I feel like the weather here. Not emotionally (though, that, too), but when it comes to making decisions. Out in nature, I have found my confidence. I used GPS to get out to the park today (with multiple dirt roads) and got back without ever turning it back on. I know when we are going to make a hiking loop and when we won't. We managed to get all the way up to the park, experience some of the tranquility and reverence of this holy place, and get home without ever feeling a drop of that incoming storm.

In life, I struggle with the same passivity about choices. Is my choice of a part-time job more of a risk than getting stuck out in a tumultuous storm someplace I had never been before? How can I offroad aimlessly through mountains and deserts, sometimes on unmarked trails with little to no connectivity for an emergency call, and fret about what to make for dinner?

On adventures, I have no problem asking questions. How did that form? Where is the bathroom? What the heck IS that? On shopping trips, I'll actively avoid an aisle with too many other people in it. There is something totally freeing about being part of the world and entirely debilitating about being part of civilized society.

As I approach another revolution around the sun, I hope I can take the gifts of my time in parks and translate them to a more serene life. It's nice to know that the confidence is in there and can be tapped into... I just have to remember that in the wilderness of a Walmart, too.

For more existential thoughts merged with life experiences - fueled by watching Sex in the City reruns - you'll have to keep coming back.