Park 27:  Badlands National Park, SD:  Heading east out of Rapid City on scenic highway SD-44, you drive through miles of prairie until you cross into the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands which encircle the Badlands.  Far off on the left as you continue driving, you see what appear to be rock formations, but as you get closer, you begin to see what makes the Badlands unique – a magnificent array of pinnacles and gullies formed by Nature for over a million years.

National Grasslands looking towards
the Badlands

Sharp peaks and pinnacles highlighed
by stratified layers of rock

These formations, framed against a clear blue sky, were reminiscent of Bryce Canyon’s hoodoos and rock formations.  As you drive through the Park, you can’t help but be enthralled by its beauty, almost surreal.  The colors and stratified layers are remnants of an ancient seabed before the Rockies and the Black Hills were lifted up exposing the ground to water and wind erosion.


Landscape gouged out by water and wind

Miles of canyons

The Park is divided into the north and south units, with the north being the most developed and visited.  We drove along the scenic loop pulling off at overlooks and taking a few short hikes among the various rock formations.  One of the fun things to see was a prairie dog town – acres of prairie dog mounds and prairie dogs poking their heads above ground. 
Even though this is park number 27, we both continue to marvel at what our country offers with its beauty and diversity for us and all the world’s visitors to enjoy.

Odometer:  11,945 miles.