We are approaching the Badlands National Park and it is far beyond what we expected to see. We have heard so many stories about the them but so hard to imagine until you are actually there. We see miles and miles of rugged mounds, boulders and mountains surrounding us, in colors hard to describe. To think that they have been here for millions of years is more than my brain can comprehend. With such beauty around us, I wondered why they were called the Badlands. It turns out the Lakota people referred to this as “mako sica”or “badlands” because the rocky terrain, lack of water and extreme temperatures made it difficult to traverse.
We stayed at the Interiors Badlands campground and had the most gorgeous view from our site. Each morning I was able to walk the trails from the campground into the fields and gaze at the wonderment of it all.
The only complaint while we there weather-wise was the wind….so very windy. In fact, there were several trails we wanted to hike but hiking through a maze of dust and dirt was more than we wanted to endure. The wildlife was also an exciting part of being there, Bison everywhere.
Besides visiting the Badlands by car and foot, we also went to Hot Springs, SD to the Mammoth Dig. Wow! We were not prepared for what this place was all about. The story is much too long to talk about in this blog but here is the link so you can check it out if you have not been there or heard about it. Hint., it about the Mammoth, gone extinct millions of years ago.
To think that these creatures actually walked this earth millions of years ago is mind boggling. We hear about how massive they were but until you see them up close and personal, it’s hard to imagine. I took many, many pictures but will only share a few to give you an idea of what we saw.
Our time here went too fast. The 4 days we spent here were not long enough to see and do all there is here but there will be another time to revisit here. So much to see, so little time. Our country has so many intriguing and fascinating places to visit, some obvious, some not. Some of the best places to see are on the backroads. Don’t ever hesitate to take the road less traveled. And then get out of the car, explore and don’t forget to look up, it’s amazing up there.
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