Badlands

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"NOT EVERYTHING THAT CAN BE COUNTED IS WORTH COUNTING. NOT EVERYTHING THAT COUNTS CAN BE COUNTED." A. EINSTEIN

June 4, 2005, Saturday. The morning was gray and rainy as we drove west toward the Badlands NP . Both the Indians and the French/Canadian called this “bad land to travel across”, and indeed it is.
As we approached, the ocean of prairie is transformed into a jumble of wilderness of badlands. About 75 million years ago the earth’s climate was warmer and a shallow sea covered the region we call the Great Plains. In today’s Badlands the bottom of the sea appears as sedimentary rock. This layer is a rich source of fossils.
The Badlands contains nearly 60 species of grasses. It is ironic. This land of sharp ridges, steep-walled canyons, gullies, pyramids and knobs has been so ruthlessly ravaged by wind and water that is has become picturesque.
We drove Highway 240, which wiggles through the Badlands for 32 miles. We stopped at many overviews and took a short hikes in this land of contrasts.
The Lazy J was home for the evening. It was quite a nice campground with a lovely view, and clean facilities.

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Photos

Bob
This is Bob talking to the giant prairie dog

Mountain View
As you can see this CG was not too crowded.

Sunrise on the prairie

Comments

[anonymous]

WOW!!
Hi you two! Man alive, this is an awesome trip. It's neat to be able to settle own with a cup of tea and read and "see" your travels on the blog site after I get home from work. You are soooo lucky.........ENJOY every minute of it! - Gerry