The Great Around-the-USA Adventure
South Dakota: Badlands NP
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| We visited Badlands in June 2008 and found it a fascinating place. Out in the middle of the plains you suddenly come upon this vast area of colorful and wondrously-eroded rock. While here we stayed at Cedar Pass Campground in the park. |
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We entered the park south of Wall, SD, and drove the 23-mile Badlands Loop Road. There are numerous pull-offs along the road where one can pause to survey the vast landscape. |
| Each rise and turn in the road brought an entirely new vista. |  |
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In some areas, some thin spires remain atop the hills. |
| A rugged landscape. |  |
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A particular sort of seabed sediment colored the Yellow Mounds. |
| The Yellow Mounds provide an interesting contrast to the more common gray and purple. |  |
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Here and there one finds valleys filled with green. |
| It looks like a lunar road. |  |
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Back in the mid-1800's homesteading settlers tried to farm the valleys. It was not an area conducive to farming and most moved on after just a few years. |
| Shapes and colors. |  |
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In some places the deep gullies seem to go on forever. |
| The lighting was rather disappointing here, but we were still struck by the fragileness of the rock formations. |  |
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Note the small spire at the left. |
| We drove by this and I jammed on the brakes to stop. I had to walk back a bit to catch this odd-shaped rock formation. Somehow it has so far managed to stay perched atop its pedestal. |  |
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The next morning, before leaving the park, we drove back in along Badlands Loop Road, in hopes of getting a few more pictures in the morning light. |
| But already another bank of dark clouds was moving in. For a few moments, they did provide a sharply contrasting background to the sunlit hills in the foreground. |  |
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But as the clouds progressed eastward and eventually dimmed the sun, we lost the vividness of colors. |
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Our last look at the Badlands before exiting the park. We continued to be amazed by the alternating layers of color.
Back to our South Dakota journey |
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