Badlands

During the summer of 2020 we were not able to travel in the manner in which we are accustomed. Covid closed the borders and had us searching for things to fulfill that wanderlust. We decided to hop in the truck and head out West, planning to see the natural beauty in and around the Rocky Mountains. On the way home we drove through South Dakota and took a trip through Badlands National Park to see the sights.

We had driven from Michigan to Denver in about 24 hours. Driving across the country like that gives you an appreciation for how big the United States really is but you really don’t comprehend how hard travel was following the Civil War when the Homestead Act incentivized brave souls to head west to seek their fortunes.

I can’t imagine how demoralizing it must have been to have walked for months with all of your belongings in a wagon driven by oxen over rugged trails and suddenly the grasslands fall away and all you see is rock

Even now my truck wouldn’t make it across that mess. Fortunately our tax dollars have provided a very nice road with places designed to pull off and see the impressive beauty of the area.

We were fortunate enough to see some wildlife.

That guy jumped up there from the road. I wasn’t fast enough to get a better shot of him.

Anyway, the National Park was basically open to drive through. We were not required to show our park pass or anything at the time and we drove from Rapid City SD in the west through the park in about two hours. It was breathtaking and more than a little overwhelming. Had we wanted to hike we could have spent days seeing the natural beauty on foot but we felt like we saw enough when the road took us back to I90.

~ Freddy