The Badlands

Kristal was a bit worried a cloudy day would dull the colors of the rock formations.

Actually, it doesn’t affect the colors much at all, and an overcast day

means you can take pictures in any direction without worrying how

the sun will glare on your lens.

Since it’s an election year and there has been plenty of other “stuff” in the news, we’re not sure how many Americans know an important milestone has occurred in our country.

This year the National Park Service is celebrating a big birthday – 100 years. Have a special family event coming up? Instead of spending your precious time in an amusement park, why not join the birthday celebration and go play in America’s backyard?

Seven attractions in South Dakota are under the supervision of the National Park Service. Of the natural attractions, The Badlands are probably the best known.

Several signs are situated around the park.

Most of the signs we saw were located at overlooks

or on a broadwalk that allows you to view the prairie up close.

 The Badlands are mostly oriented East to West with two entrances into the park. You can do a one way trip through the park like we did, depending on which way you travel there, what you want to do while visiting, and where you’re traveling when you leave.

We traveled to the Badlands from Ft. Randall Dam. Rather than following the Missouri River up to I-90, we got on Hwy. 18 and headed west. We picked up lunch and topped off the gas tank in Winner. No matter how much gas you have, fill the tank in Winner if you take the same route we did. Once you get into the Indian reservations, gas stations are difficult to find. (The one gas station we did locate right off the highway wasn’t a very good fit for our big van and 31 ft. trailer. The pumps were also old and didn’t take cards for payment. We got gas in Interior before driving through the Badlands.) From Winner you can take Hwys 183 & 44 to Interior, or you can stay on Hwy 18 to Mission, then take 83 to 44. Just be aware traveling through this part of the state can be a bit challenging. While they are paved, most of the highways are not in great condition. You also won’t have a cell phone signal all the time, or see a lot of people. However, your sense of adventure will be rewarded with the feeling that you have the world to yourself.

For those who want to camp, there are some options including 2 campgrounds run by the NPS. The campground at the Southeast entrance of the park is right off the paved road. It has electrical hookups. The other campground at the west end of the park is undeveloped and off a gravel road. There are also some private RV parks in or near Interior, the small town closest to the Southeast entrance. We stayed at the KOA located about 4 miles SE of Interior because it was not only a full-service RV park, but was the most sheltered place we could find in the area. When the weather is cold and windy, small valleys and scrubby trees (when there are few in the area) can make camping more tolerable, even with an RV. It also turned out to be an interesting place to do some people watching. A big, red double-decker bus full of European tourists stopped there for the night, too. From what we could gather, there were a total of 25 people including the driver, and the bus had individual sleeping compartments for everyone.

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Kristal has done a little research to identify some of the plants she photographed,

But she hasn’t found positive IDs for some of them.

We’re guessing this little beauty is a primrose.

The flowers’ shape and their stamens are very similar to the pink primroses

we have here in Texas, but the foliage isn’t the same.

Notice the “soil” around this plant. It looks like it should be soft and powdery.

Don’t be fooled. It’s hard and slippery almost like glass.

Park officials would prefer visitors don’t leave paved areas or paths anyway.

If you need to get closer to something within a few feet of designated areas,

step carefully.

Not sure what this plant is either. Perhaps a type of Clover?

As for the Badlands themselves, the road provided by the NPS is nice to drive on and many pull-offs/scenic overlooks are available for your photo taking opportunities. Though it’s a time of year when the weather can be uncertain, we recommend going in the spring. The multi-colored rock formations are even more interesting to look at when surrounded by a sea of green prairie grass. There will also be blooming wild flowers. Sometime between early to mid-summer the prairie grasses on the Great Plains usually turn brown. Of course, when this happens depends on how much rainfall occurs into summer. By the time we got home in early June, Kristal’s uncle reported it got hot in the Black Hills and the grass was already brown. Other years, it can stay green in the area most of the summer.

Big Horn Sheep are quite good at blending into their environment,

and we almost missed them.

Kristal is still shopping for additional lenses for her camera and was using her kit lens.

She got as close as she dared to this group (1 ram & 3 ewes) without disturbing them.

Wildlife sightings in the Badlands are possible. Seeing the prairie dogs is pretty much a given. They are active most of the day and some of their “towns” aren’t too far from the road. If you’ve never seen them before, they can be entertaining to watch. Other sightings are going to be dependent on animal species and time of day. We drove through the park during mid to late morning and had given up hope of seeing anything else, since we were on our way out at the west end. Suddenly, we noticed some movement on the south side of the highway. A Big Horned Sheep was walking along the edge of a ravine, while a small group lay on the ground nearby. If it hadn’t been for the moving sheep, we would have missed them. Unfortunately, the area where they were located was beyond the pullouts and overlooks. The only option we had for getting photos was to pull onto the gravel road that goes to the undeveloped campground so Kristal could walk back with her camera.

Information about the park can be found here - https://www.nps.gov/badl/upload/Badlands%20Visitor%20Guide%202009-2.pdf

The extent of our visit was driving thru and taking photos, but since Karl has an America the Beautiful Pass, we may be back for a longer visit. Kristal would like to attend the Night Sky Program. Sadly, we were there before it started in June.

After we left the Badlands, we went to Wall and made a brief stop at Wall Drug. Traveling with an RV? Just follow the signs to the over-size vehicle parking lot. Besides the famous free glass of ice water, there is a restaurant and plenty of gift stores. Think of it as a Western and Pioneer themed shopping mall. (Though in their defense, the original drug store has been around longer than most malls – since 1931) We were traveling with our pets, so we weren’t able stay very long. Still, it’s one of South Dakota’s original tourist traps. Those first glasses of ice water were handed out in 1936, during an era when Americans were starting to discover the joys of leisure travel. Note that year, fellow Airstreamers. It’s the same one that saw another icon take to the open road for fun and adventure. That alone makes Wall Drug worth at least one visit in our opinion. Learn about it here - http://www.walldrug.com/