Badlands National Park

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I'd heard about it, read about it and seen films about it, but until I actually saw it, I didn't really appreciate the true beauty of Badlands National Park. It was not what I had expected.
We started at the eastern side and drove a loop through the park. The usual visitor center at the park entrance was our first stop. It has always proven to be an important part of a visit to any of our National Parks because there is a wealth of information to make the visit more meaningful.
There is usually a film about the park and this visitor center was no exception. We saw a 20 minutes film. I would advise anyone visiting any of the parks to take the time to watch the film if there is one available. After the film and before we headed further into the park, we sat outside in their picnic area to have the lunch that we had brought with us. It had taken us a few hours to reach the park because we had driven on a couple of scenic routes along the way, so it was early afternoon when we finally reached the visitor center.
The scenery from that point on was amazing. I can't really describe it, you have to see the photos and even those don't really do it justice.
When the Lakota indians first encountered the striking, moon-like landscape, they aptly called the area “Mako Sica” or “bad land.” Early French trappers also described the area as “bad land” after difficult travels over the rugged terrain. It's clear to see how difficult it would have been. Obviously the early trappers and settlers didn't have the advantage of the lovely road that we drove on today.
Millions of years of wind, water and erosion have created the chiseled spires, deep canyons and jagged buttes of Badlands National Park. On-going rains, freezes and thaws have revealed millions of years of sediment that paint a colorful landscape on the prairies of this park. There was a lot more prairie land than I'd expected and the canyons in some areas reminded me of a mini Grand Canyon. The prairie land was on one side of the road and the canyons and buttes on the other for a large part of the time. However, there where times when we traveled right down through the rocky buttes and mounds. It was amazing.
Covering 244,000 acres, Badlands National Park is one of the largest protected mixed-grass prairies in the United States. More than 64,000 acres of the park are designated as wilderness.
It is home to many species of wildlife including bighorn sheep, bison, the swift fox and the endangered black-footed ferret. Antelope and deer are commonly seen roaming near roadways and picnic areas. Oh and lets not forget the cute little prairie dogs. We saw literally hundreds in the park today. There was even a sign directing us to one area named "Roberts Prairie Dogtown". So our wildlife spotting for today included lots of bison, prairie dogs and a lone antelope up on a hillside. There were many birds but not any that I could photograph. They were too quick to move on.
Badlands National Park also contains the world's richest deposits of fossils from the Oligocene epoch. I don't really know what that means ( Oligocene epoch) so I'll have to look that up. Paleontologists have uncovered the remains of ancient three-toed horses, tiny deer-like creatures, turtles, a saber-toothed cat, dinosaur bones and other prehistoric animals.
We drove across the park and then turned back to some of the areas we had already seen, hoping to catch some better lighting for photography as the sun dropped lower in the sky. The late afternoon brought a cloud bank that veiled the suns rays and I suppose it spoiled the photo opportunities for many who had come later in the day to capture the colours which deepen as the sun becomes lower. However, we had seen a lot of what the park had to offer so were not too disappointed. I was happy with the photos I'd taken and grateful that we had been blessed with some fabulous weather during the afternoon. The temps in the park were in the high 80's and there was a lovely strong breeze most of the time.
We left the park and headed back towards Rapid City where we stopped for dinner. It was dark when we left Rapid City for the short trip back to Hill City. Hill City is named because it is in the Black Hills so consequently it's cooler up here. When we left the restaurant in Rapid City the temp was 81 and a little more than one half hour later up in Hill City is was 62. Quite a difference.
Another fabulous day was over. Tomorrow we head into Wyoming.

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