Badlands National Park
Here’s what I did for my holiday weekend – a road trip to Badlands National Park in South Dakota. This is a shot of the Badlands around sunset. Enjoy!
To learn more about Badlands National Park, click here.
Badlands National Park
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I visited the Badlands a lot when I was young (I grew up in North Dakota), but I haven’t been there in ages. I’d love to take my kids there. Really gorgeous territory as your wonderful photos shows.
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Thanks, Carrie. It’s such amazing beauty. I think the boys would really enjoy it – as well as the Black Hills. What a beautiful place that is!
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Oh I love this!! I so want to visit your part of the world one day. I have a funny reminder that popped up on my phone thanks to you 🙂 http://wp.me/a2dwKf-1xh
Maybe next year!
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Hugs, Kathryn. I love it! I hope you’ll come this way some time. There’s so much beauty here and it would be so great to meet you in person!
Cathy
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Well, I am leaving to head back to the NL tonight so it will have to wait until next year! Maybe we can connect in 2015!
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That would be awesome! We’re not going to the festival this year either. My sister is moving out to Fort Collins in late August and I’m going to drive back with her from Georgia. Then Peter and I are leaving in September for a 10-day dive trip to Belize (and I’ve got get some work in there somewhere 🙂 ). Safe travels, Kathryn!
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Thanks Cathy, I have told so many people about Moab and it left a BIG impression on me. I hope to do it and if I forget please remind me? Hugs Cathy! ♥
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Magnificent – I know I use that adjective a lot when commenting on your photos…
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Awww, thanks, Mimi. I do my best! 🙂
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Great photo of this majestic place, Cathy! It must be an adventure hiking 🙂
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Thank you, Amy. There are lots of beautiful hikes in the area, especially the Black Hills. These bluffs are so large, and they’re not really very climbable, so hiking in the Badlands is a bit limited, but we found some other places were we really enjoyed the hiking. Such rugged country.
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Lovely photo of an amazing place, Cathy. We love the Badlands and pass them every year to and from Wyoming. Sometimes we drive through and some years we visit elsewhere, although always on the way home as we’re too anxious to arrive to stop on the way out. 🙂
janet
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I’m glad you enjoy them too, Janet. I don’t know if you experience the same thing, but the scale of the bluffs makes them somewhat difficult to capture well. I took lots of shots in early morning and late afternoon and got several that I liked, but it was a challenge. I’m going to also play with them to see if I like them better in B & W. Hope your trip to Europe is going wonderfully!
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Love the rock layers! Thanks for sharing a shot of a place I haven’t visited.
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Thank you, Frank! While they look like rocks, they’re really more like sandy bluffs and apparently they’re eroding all the time. The layers are fascinating and somewhat hard to capture unless the light is close to perfect. The colors really fade out in the mid-day sun, but I was pleased to get some shots where they appeared.
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Thanks for the outstanding explanation.
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Wow.
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Thanks, Elyse!
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Yet again, another beautiful shot. You give great landscape, Cathy. Until now, I was only aware of “Badlands” as a Bruce Springsteen song and a 1973 film starring Sissy Spacek and Martin Sheen. Even though the film is set in South Dakota, the location didn’t make an impression on me at 14. Clearly, I was living under a rock.
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Or a bluff in this case, V. These bluffs are basically clay sediment from eroded igneous rocks of the Black Hills nearby. Very interesting geology (as is true of most of the West). Apparently the area got its name from French trappers who were trying to get their wagons around this stuff and they weren’t amused by the steep, slippery clay outcroppings. In fact, we tried an established hiking trail over one of the saddles in the bluffs and bailed out because it was so steep and slippery. I’m quite adventurous, but not too keen on heights…
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It’s a beautiful place, have been there twice and would go again.
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It is truly a beautiful place, Mary. I agree, I’d go back in heartbeat! 🙂
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The badlands look darn good when viewed through your eyes.
Russ
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Thanks so much, Russ. I’m glad you enjoyed, my friend!
Cathy
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It’s the colors of nature that inspire artists, fashion, everything. I’ve not been to that part of the country but it looks, from your pics, that a cowboy or Indian could peek over those striped mountains any moment. That’s what good photos do — make us appreciate what is, what has been and what could be. This wonderful shot does just that, Cathy.
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I love the contrast of the tender, green-gold plants and the dry, barren bluffs. Lovely composition.
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