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Published: August 18th 2010
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Grass Mounds in the Badlands
These chunks of grass topped islands were everywhere. Note: I forgot to mention is the last chapter that Sturgis is in the Black Hills. This is the area that has the gigantic motorcycle rally every year the first week in August. Thank God I will not be in the area, then, because the whole place is jammed with thousands of people and their motorcycles! They were already starting to come in and it was getting hard to find places to park during the day and for the night.
July 27—Today we drove through Rapid City and stopped briefly at Wal-mart to catch up on some shopping. Then I drove on the the south part of the Badlands. This part of the park is less visited than the northern part, but was interesting. Most of the Badlands National Park is actually grassland with a lot of different species of grass. One reason I think it is called the “Badlands” is the numerous drop-offs which would be unseen by a horse and rider. One could just be riding along and bang! There is a sudden drop-off anywhere from a couple of feet to a couple of hundred feet! I tried to take some pictures of the flat grassland with some
Cows in the Badlands
Apparently the cows weren't bothered by all the ditches and crevasses. of the sudden ditches. There were some cattle grazing on the grasses and they climbed up and down some of the trenches. The name for the Badlands actually came from the Indians who originally called it that.
A lot of the southern part of the Park is on Sioux land. The tribe contracts with the government to allow the park on it. The White River runs through the park. It is named for the white rock and ground around it. The geologists say the white is ash from a volcano era.
I seem to get tired faster these days, so I decided to save the northern part of the Park for tomorrow and went on to an RV park nearby. The day wasn't quite as hot as it has been so I did some walking. The area had swarms of grasshoppers. They flew up with every step! I tried to get a picture of them because there were so many, but none came out. There were horses grazing close by, so I got some pictures of them, especially the painted ponies. The RV park is a working ranch which also offers horseback rides. I thought about taking
one, but the last time I was on a horse I was down for two days from allergies, so I decided not to take a chance. The park was not far from part of the Badlands so I got an opportunity to photograph the fields of hay with the Badlands in the background. I read in one of the brochures that the National Park covers only 10% of the total Badlands area. The evening brought another great sunset.
July 28—The northern part of the Park is much more interesting with lots of weird formations to see. Some of the areas reminded me somewhat of Bryce Canyon, except the stone was not red. I have found it fascinating how each of the National Parks have their own “personality”. At some places there were wooden walkways so a tourist could get out in the rocks without too much hiking. There were even some areas where people were allowed to climb. The kids were having a lot of fun. There are also lots of hiking trails for those who like to do that. I can only imagine what some of the scenery would be like on those trails.
The Badlands have
been described as having a moon-like surface and that is so true. It does look very alien in many places. I was amused at portions of two statements written in the guest-book that had been enlarged a hung on the wall of the visitor's center. One praised the beauty and fascination of the park. The other talked of the monotony and ugliness and finished with “I was never so glad to leave such a place.” Different strokes for different folks.
The drive across the north part of the park comes out on the I-90 at Wall, SD. The town is home to the famous Wall Drugstore. I did find out the drugstore was named after the town, not vice-versa. It was opened by a couple in 1931 and just about went under, until the wife came up with the idea of offering free ice water to travelers. She and some of their children put up signs along the highway to advertise it. The idea worked. It is now the “largest drug store in the world”, still serves free ice water and also 5 cent coffee! The whole thing takes up about 2 city blocks. It has everything including over
Moonscape?
More of the Badlands 1000 framed old photos on the walls and a small chapel! Quite an outfit. I spent a couple of hours just going through it, ate a donut and drank some nickle coffee. Yes, I did pay my nickle in the little box by the pot!
While driving today I crossed the “wide” Missouri River. There was a rest stop and visitor's center up on a hill overlooking the river. It seems this was a stopping place for Lewis and Clark on their journey mapping the Louisiana Purchase. The Visitor's Center was closed, but the park around it was quite elaborate. I got some good pictures.
July 29—I spent last night dry-camping at a Cabela's store then drove into downtown Mitchell, SD to see the Corn Palace. The Palace is a building that takes up a city block and is decorated outside and in using all parts of the corn plant plus grass and other grains grown nearby. The first one was in 1892. It was designed to showcase area agriculture and attract more farmers to the area. It not only did that, it attracted tourists! There is also a fall corn festival that goes along with it. With
Haybales and Badlands
Hay bales in the field by the RV park. This photo is for Berry who "loves" the round bales! some exceptions during the first few years then later in the war years, they change the designs every year. The museum has pictures of all the decorations since 1892. It is certainly a fascinating place to visit. I got some pictures of some of the workers still putting up some of the dried plant materials on the outside. By the way, entrance to the Corn Palace is free!
July 30—Moving on down the highway, I bypassed Sioux Fall and headed south to Vermillion where I spent the night. I had been getting news bits about the heavy rains and floods in the area and started seeing signs of it along the way. Many of the fields of corn and grain had standing water. I never did hear if there was much crop damage, however.
Today, the sky was a deep blue. I passed a small pond which reflected that blue. It was surrounded by tall grass which was a dark green. This was surrounded by some crop which was a lighter green. The rolling hills behind that had ripe wheat which was golden, and of course the blue sky was behind that. Being on the interstate, I was
Painted Ponies
These two were grazing by the RV park. moving at a good clip and could not stop for a picture. The picture God had painted on His earth canvas was just beautiful though.
Anyway, back to the rain and floods, the city park with the RV spaces was flooded. There was only one empty space above the water and it had some puddles on it. I backed in with a prayer I wouldn't be stuck the next morning!
July 31—I drove out of the space easily! Thank you, Lord. Just a few miles down the road, I crossed the Missouri River and was in Nebraska again. This time headed to see my uncle and two more cousins.
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Valerie Schmidt
non-member comment
Hi There
So good to hear from you. Your Pics are wonderful. Have fun. Enjoy Valerie