Today we took a drive through the Badlands, they cover a whole area, just south of I-90, from just west of Wall, all the way back to Mitchel. The last time we were here was in 2002 and it had been raining and everything was muddy and slimy. Today was perfect for a drive, in the high 70's with a nice breeze.
The Badlands are a work of Mother Nature, with the help of the wind and rain and the hand of time, there are gullies and valleys and twists and turns. Look closely and you will find soft colors in the rock and you may even find a toadstool or two. The Badlands are not void of life, many animals call the National Park home. There are several colonies of prairie dogs, mule deer, pronghorn deer (sometimes known as antelope), bison (often called buffalo), coyotes and bighorn sheep.
About 75 million years ago there was a shallow sea covering this area, stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada and from western Iowa to western Wyoming. This sea was teaming with sea life and there were land animals as well. All of these fossils can be found in the rock of the Badlands.
Pictures do not do justice to the formations of the rocks in the Badlands. The pale color of the rock becomes washed out in a picture, but Phil took hundreds and I have picked those that I thought best for showing here. Nothing can beat seeing it for yourself.
We enter the park
A map showing the size of the Badlands National Park
This rock has color in it, but it doesn't show up well in a picture
Our beast
From rolling almost smooth appearance to crags, you will find it here.
Like fingers reaching out
Funny shapes
To spires
To poky things
To toadstools, sometimes called hoodoo's. This is where water and wind have washed the softer rock from under a harder rock, which ends up balanced on top.
Grassy valleys
Outside of the park is this original sod house, still standing
Perhaps the barn
The historical plaque tells the story
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