Badlands NP

Badlands NP was my last stop during my trip to the Dakotas. This park was a very nice surprise. Much more interesting than I expected. This is one of those NP you either hate it or love it. I loved it!



Badlands NP protects "the Wall", a range of badland mountains which separates the lower plains from the upper plains. It is a step in the middle of the plains. An the step is spectacular! You can see it clearly in the following photo. Click on it for better resolution.



And when you get to hike in them, it just looks like being in the Moon! It can't be so different up there ;)




Even hikes are pretty nice. Can you see the ladder going up on the left? This setting looks like "Tomb Raider"...



It was pretty cloudy and cold, and that made the Sun look quite ghostly!



When the Sun starting setting, it went below the clouds and lit the badlands with warm colors.



Some peaks were so rough!



I saw nice landscape wherever I looked!



Some more photos of mountains in the Badlands, as I drove along the scenic drive that goes across the National Park:




These mountains were an incredible yellow color...



Finally, the sunset was impressive. Really dramatic.



The trip to South and North Dakota ended up being much more interesting than expected. The huge prairies, the badlands, the Black Mountains, caves, and all the animals I saw... highly rewarding!!