By Scott Shephard

They say, “Don’t mess with Texas.” But I’m going to try. A year ago to the day that this photo was taken, Deb and I were roaming the mostly empty halls of the state house in Austin, Texas. Yes, they have a bigger dome. But they can’t come even close to the festive, holiday spirit that imbues the South Dakota capitol building.

We visited Pierre last week on what I bill the “Great Escape Winter Road Trip.” Last year we went to Texas. This year we went to Pierre, the Badlands and Wall. And we have no regrets.

Canon 5DIII f3.2 1/40 sec 1000 ISO