Aug 5, 2024 on the mend

Got a reasonable night's sleep last night.  Should have mentioned that the night I spent on the Pinnacles ridge in Badlands NP turned into a wild wind storm with gusts so hard I finally packed up at 2:30 AM for fear of the tent being blown off the truck.  Spent the rest of the night in a more sheltered area.

Visited Mt Rushmore the next day but it was swarmed with hundreds of motorcycles from the nearby massive rally at Steurgess.  Same was true at Devil's Tower -gobs of bikers.

Went fishing at tiny Fool's Creek.  Generally, it's only 10 - 15 wide in a meadowy canyon.  You'd think it unlikely to hold trout but after making a fool of my casting during gusty winds at a tiny target I finally happened upon a pool with 20+ fish.  I had to try a bunch of different flies but 4 fish on only to lose them seconds into the fight.  Adjusted the way I set the hook and brought in 5 cutties!

Staying in Burgess Junction for a few more days.  Brian says the fire is 35% contained but that's not very comforting knowing his house is still not safe yet.