Badlands Two- Photos and a quick Video

I just love this scenery... so beautiful- even on a cloudy day in the winter.

Traveling alone is such a funny thing. You get to talk to cool people, but if you ever want a photo of yourself someplace that doesn't consist of you holding the camera as far from your face as possible, you need to trust people with your camera. I normally wouldn't mind, but I've been using my cell phone a bit and it's not only complicated to get pictures with sometimes, but it would be a real problem if someone drops it in a ravine somewhere.

I also have trust issues when I'm alone certain places with complete strangers. I've watched too many episodes of Law and Order, but I did get nervous being alone in the middle of nowhere with four guys around my age taking photos over the edge of a cliff. I'm sure they were perfectly nice young men and I certainly wasn't looking my best, but you never can tell who the nut-jobs are. (That was a Rob phrase for any of you who know Rob...) Therefore, I didn't do any serious walking on any of the trails when I wasn't in the sight of one or more groups of elderly, male and female groups, and/or Asian tourists taking lots of pictures. I was sad about this because I wanted to see further off the road, and I'd absolutely love to go hiking there someday. Maybe my dad will want to take a trip out this summer.



Here's where the photos begin. There isn't a whole lot of explaining to do. They come from different areas of a park, and while there were little plaques telling you all about the area, I didn't pay too much attention to them. In retrospect, perhaps I should have. Oh well.


These photos were all taken from spots along the Badlands Loop... the road that forms a circle through the park reaching route 90 again further along. This was very convenient for me on my trip.




Found a couple I trusted with my camera. Proves I was actually there. ;-)


I saw just a little bit of wildlife while driving through the park... some groups of deer and also a type of horned sheep that have been brought back into the park after nearly being wiped out in the last century. I watched a video at the visitor's center about how they are trying to restore the natural ecosystem of the park by reintroducing animals such as ferrets, a type of fox, and horned sheep to the park. They also said, unfortunately, that the park was too small to sustain large predators like the grizzly bear, or mountain lion. I hope the prairie dogs and deer will get along okay without them.




Ooooo... But I didn't have to worry much since I didn't even step off the wooden path, and I don't know if they come out in cloudy winter.


Goodbye Badlands. Hope to see you again someday for some hiking.


Now this photo does require some explanation. This is yet another place with a hundred billboards on the highway. They start 180 miles before you actually reach Wall, SD. They advertise as the largest drug store in the world, and have billboards posted implying they've been mentioned in the likes of Time magazine, and the International Herald Tribune. Seems odd, but I'll go with it. As I exited the park loop on the other side, I drove right into Wall and thought I should stop. Unfortunately, on Sunday they close at 4pm. Struck out again on the Sunday thing! Fortunately, there was a shop across the street with mostly tourist trappy items, but they did carry a lovely selection of Native American horse hair pottery.

That's all for now. Heading to Mt. Rushmore and Billings, MT. Expect another post tomorrow or the next day.