We left Luverne MN on Sept. 28 and arrived in South Dakota at the Badlands National Park.  We set up camp in the Cedar Pass campground and immediately went exploring.  We were lucky to get a camp site with electric, only about 30 percent of the sites have electricity and everything is first come first serve with no reservations.

Most National Parks have great information at the visiter center so we go there first to talk to the ranger, get maps of the area and learn about trails that we would like to hike and watch the video about the park.  The name “Badlands” fits this geological wonder very appropriately.  It is hard to imagine wandering through the area on foot or horse back.  Today many of the trails are well-marked or wood platform side walks while others are marked trails through the desert. The desert can be a dangerous place! While we looked for snakes and scorpions we never saw any.

Our first hike took us to a canyon ending in a wooden ladder going up a cliff. I took the challenge while Nancy stayed at the bottom and took pictures.

The trail led along the top of the cliff for about 50 yards.  I stopped when I came to this sign!

I decided at this point to turn back since I didn’t have my regular hiking boots on and didn’t feel exactly too safe. Yes, I did have to climb back down the ladder! We walked on a couple of boardwalk trails that wound around several mountains.  The views were spectacular and the sunset was stunning.

 

That night we fell into bed exhausted which became a very familiar event during the next three weeks.

We woke up way too early (according to Nancy) to beat the sunrise.  We were on the “Castle” trail as the sun rose over the cliffs behind our backs.  We walked into the desert  about two miles as the sun played on the many cliffs and rock formations around us.  Ten minutes into the walk we were alone, back in time, with the stillness of the desert surrounding us. The sunrise was amazing, the colors in the sky were bright and so clear.  It is really hard to describe.

About a mile into our hike we came upon six deer feeding in the coulee just ahead of us.  they would walk 10 yards, stop and stare at us. They were really pretty friendly.

I told Nancy that there was another one on the next ridge.  She looked through her camera and said NO! it was a big horn sheep.  A beautiful ram stood there long enough for a long-range photo.  This is the first big horn sheep that we have seen in the wild.  Very exciting for us.

 

After breakfast we continued our exploration with several scenic overlooks. The most notable was the route that “Big Foot’s” band of indians took on their way to wounded Knee SD where they were massacred several days later.

 

The Badlands are such a strange and mysterious place.  Nancy and I will be back to explore more nooks and crannies of this wonderful place.