A photo story

Sylvan Lake, Custer State Park

Laura sat on a granite boulder at Sylvan Lake in Custer State Park, South Dakota, in July 2026. It was a clear, hot morning, already in the upper 80s and headed toward about 90, with only a light breeze.

Sylvan Lake is a small, rocky lake in the Black Hills, and it was the same day we were on the trail toward Black Elk Peak. The granite around the water is the same stone you walk through on the way up.