Badlands National Park, South Dakota

Day 10 continued: We had a busy morning after leaving Rapid City, SD (see previous post), and it was after lunch when we finally left Wall , SD and made it to the Badlands.

According to Wikipedia, A badlands is a dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded by wind and water. Such terrain is often difficult to navigate by foot.

I guess! Can you imagine walking or riding a horse very far through this?

The terrain is perfectly suitable for these guys, however. Can you find all seven of the mountain goats?  I have to admit, I didn't see the one on the rock to the left or the one in the bushes below that before I enlarged it greatly.  (Click on the pictures to enlarge or for slide show)









Thirty-seven million years ago, streams flowed into this area from the west, carrying windblown volcanic ash, and gravel and rocks from the Black Hills. Sediments were laid down, ash turned to clay and then to rock. Erosive forces of nature stared carving the Badlands only about half a million years ago to uncover the stunning formations and vibrant colors on display today.



Fantastic, rugged landscape, brilliant colors--I was in heaven!

And this cute little guy made my day!

But trouble was brewing on the horizon. Skies had been blue to the west, but up ahead it was not so inviting. We could literally see this storm blowing in, and Greg was concerned about getting caught in it. We're used to California weather. Give us a good old earthquake over a tornado any day!

Still, I kept begging for stops along the way. Here, we overlooked the area where hundreds of  hopeful homesteaders built make-shift homes and attempted to farm the land  during the early 1900s. Most of the so-called "Starvation Claims" were abandoned.




Storm moving closer, Greg panicking, Cindy snapping pictures. You have to admit--the weather turned the surreal landscape into a picturefest.

I love the candy-stripe effect of the various sediments. Reminds me of the old children's song "The Big Rock Candy Mountain."





The rain finally did catch us, as you can see from the wet road here. But it wasn't nearly as bad as Greg feared-- just rain after all.

 As we drove out of the storm, I caught this last shot of the Badlands looking like a castle from a fairy tale.

Badlands National Park in South Dakota is a great destination.  If you have more time, there are many activities.  The entire park is opening to hiking and camping.  If you can see this much just driving though as we did, imagine what you could see in a couple of days!

Join us again next week as we continue east toward our destination, New Hampshire and our grandkids' graduations.  Time is pressing, but we will still make many quick stops along the way to take in some famous highlights as we dash across the country.