The Badlands

---

The Badlands was our destination after Minneapolis. After the most boring drive of the trip (and windiest!!) we ended up in some of the most beautiful territory we've ever seen. It was also incredibly different than anything we've ever seen. The first night, we stayed in a campground in the Badlands....but after torrent winds that shook our tent so badly we couldn't sleep, we gave up and slept in a hotel in Wall, South Dakota, home of Wall Drug, the next night. Wall Drug was pretty interesting, to say the least. We explored plenty of the Badlands and it was up there as one of the top places on the trip....and definitely worth staying for an extra day.

The pictures do not do it justice, keep in mind.

Animals we saw included: coyote, big horned sheep, deer, antelope, bison, prairie dogs, and baby foxes.

A funny story that happened on the trip: There is a section of the park cordoned off for bison, so we went down to investigate in the car. You really aren't supposed to get out of the car but one of us (note: not Katie) wanted to get out and get a better picture of some bison down in a ravine. Well, the person who didn't have this idea wasn't really sure because it was possibly bison birthing season, which is a time of year when they get aggressive. We went down anyway to this area that only had one little tiny scrub bush. The coast certainly looked clear....but it was not. Sure enough, a bison stuck its head out of the bush when we were about 200 feet away, as to say "Please get the hell out of here." Without panicking, we slowly made our way back up the hill. The party that had not been privy to the idea in the first place (note: not Joe) just shook his/her head.

---

Photos

The Corn Palace
Taste of the midwest

WALL DRUG
400 miles of signs on the way. We didn't even get any free ice water....

Sunset the first night
We set up camp just in time to see this amazing sunset. I guess it's pretty difficult to see any less than a spectacular sunset in the Badlands, as we later found out.

Hiking
We did all kinds of hiking in the Badlands, from going to the top of some of the spires to walking through the prairie. It was all gorgeous, even on an overcast day.

Seashells in South Dakota!
We were lucky enough to see some fossilized sea shells on one of our walks, which was so cool! There were thousands of these shells everywhere. It's amazing that they've hardly changed, but of course, they are no where near South Dakota anymore.

Cliff Swallow Nests
These were so cool!

Bison
This was a nice bison. He or she just kinda kept to themself.

Big Horn Sheep
There are only about 100 big horn sheep in the Badlands and we were lucky to see some on a drive. If you look very closely, you can see the identification collar around the male's neck.

Badlands at sunset
Beautiful

Sunset
Easily one of the most beautiful sunsets we've ever seen.

Mount Rushmore
Tourist stop!

Mount Rushmore
Very impressive.

Blackhills
A place we would love to spend more time someday.

Forest fires
This is the remnants of a huge forest fire in the Blackhills. It took thousands of acres and 5 years later still looks as though it just happened.