2012 August 20, The Badlands National Park, South Dakota

Monday morning we were off to the Badlands National Park, located in southwest South Dakota. The Lakota gave this lands its name, "mako sica," meaning "land bad." Badlands National Park preserves 244,000 acres of sharply eroded buttes, pinnacles, and spires blended with the largest protected mixed grass prairie in the United States. It is desolation at its truest, where you can look for miles and see no sign of civilization. Wind and rain erosion have created an eerie moonscape of deep gorges, sedimentary layers of different colors: purple and yellow (shale), tan and gray (sand and gravel), red and orange (iron oxides) and white (volcanic ash). There are no obstructions in Badlands National Park to mar the horizon. The land unfolds unceasingly until it meets the sky. It is a land close to the sun, replete with some of nature's finest forms! Erosion continues to this day, frequently revealing long-buried fossils. The Badlands is one of the world's richest Eocene/Oligocene Epoch fossil beds, yielding a wealth of information on the "Golden Age of Mammals" of approximately 25 million to 37 million years ago. Along several trails there are fossilized remains of saber-toothed cats, miniature camels and horses, along with huge rhinoceros-like beasts known as titanotheres, that scientists have discovered in the multicolored layers of the park. Prehistoric bones are still being uncovered today by park officials. The Badlands was established on January 29, 1930 as a National Monument and on November 10, 1978 as a National Park. Buffalo Gap National Grassland surrounds The Badlands National Park. Wildlife roams the park's boundaries as well. Bison, pronghorn, mule and whitetail deer, prairie dogs, coyotes, butterflies, turtles, snakes, bluebirds, vultures, eagles and hawks are just some of the wildlife that can often be seen by visitors. In 1994 the near-extinct Black-footed ferrets were reintroduced into the Badlands prairie. These nocturnal animals are rarely seen by the visiting public. It is such a beautiful place to visit. A must stop for everyone!!! That is all for today. As you may have noticed, I added a slide show of my photos. I do not think they show the true beauty of the park, but I had so many that I wanted to show more than just a few. Love to all, Candy and Johnny