The Badlands are Soooo Good, Badlands National Park, SD [July 13, 2016]

Hiking the Badlands!

Your first view of the Badlands coming off the prairie

Imagine you are a pioneer and have spent weeks crossing the seemingly endless grass prairie.  Suddenly, you come across this carved wasteland of steep hills striped in color.  The river that runs through it is white with clay sediment from the eroding hillsides.  Winds sweep through crevices in the towering cliffs.  You have reached the Badlands.

As you enter the park, you have no idea what is in store

Beautiful muted colors indicate millennia of geologic strata

For those of us in automobiles, with endless supplies of water the Badlands are incredibly beautiful.  The geologic history that created this land has been revealed by erosion first from the appropriately named White River, then from wind and rain.  The colors are lovely and muted - beige, rose, gold, cream.  You could not recreate them on any artist’s palette.

For miles and miles

Formations eroded by wind and water

Your first sight of the Badlands as you drive along I-90 are the jagged cliffs off in the distance.  You don’t really appreciate what they are until you enter the National Park (Happy 100^th Birthday NPS!).  Suddenly a dramatic vista opens before you. 

Hiking the Door Trail

Hiking up Saddleback Trail

We took several hikes through the park.  The Door Trail led us along the top of one of the ridges, with great views down below.   We abandoned Saddleback Trail part way up.  It was sooo steep, and the surface was so loose under our feet and walking sticks.  Settlers used to park their wagons at the top of that trail, lead their (terrified) horses down it and went to town to shop for supplies.  Then they would take their supplies back up, attach the (now traumatized) horse back to the wagon and set off for their sod houses. 

Where we turned around on Saddleback, motor home is next to right most tree below

Yay, back in the motor home!

The Fossil Trail talks about different fossils found in the park and show where in the strata they were found.  The area is rich with fossils because a whole sedimentary history has been exposed for scientists to see.  Dana was a little disappointed, she thought we would actually see the fossils in the ground.  There were casts of the fossils, and (best yet) hills to climb along and look for fossils.

Exploring for fossils at Fossil Trail

Amazing formations everywhere you look

You can see animals in the Badlands.  Prairie Dogs create towns right next to the road and visit from hole to hole.  We guess they have been raised with cars stopping and taking their picture and are unconcerned when we do.  Such funny and engaging creatures.  We also saw bison (in the distance), and pronghorn antelope.

Pronghorn Antelope

Prairie Dogs

There are many photos in this blog post.  Know that we took 221, we just couldn’t stop taking pictures.  These are our favorites.

So lovely

And more...

The three ShoreXplorers at the end of Door Trail

White River, wonder how it got its name...

The Yellow Mounds are the oldest strata in the park

Pretty aren't they?

Perhaps our favorite landscape photo, ever!

Yikes!  Stripes!

Upon departure