The Badlands 1

Designated as a national monument in 1929 and not redesignated as a national park until November 10, 1978, the Badlands has one of the more interesting park names.  Once you’ve seen it, you can understand why the Lakota Sioux Indians called it Mako Sica, which has been translated as “land bad” and as “eroded land.”  French fur trappers called it  “les mauvaises terres a traverser” or  “bad lands to traverse.”  Of course, with modern roads, albeit winding ones, the trip is much easier, one anyone who has the chance should take.  But if you’re hiking, take lots of water, wear suntan lotion and a hat, and stay on the trails.

Yellow Mounds Overlook

The day I arrived about noon at the entrance to the park was the day of the solar eclipse.  I didn’t have glasses, but I must have been the only one who didn’t.  There were hundreds of people walking, standing, sitting, or lying everywhere, gazing at the sun.  With my husband’s repeated warnings to all of us to “Don’t look at the sun!” ringing in my ears (and valuing my sight too much), I resolutely looked at the land formations.  One kind woman loaned me her glasses for a quick look when the sun was almost covered.  A positive thing was that most people weren’t driving, so the road through the park was relatively untraveled during that time span.  🙂

I purposefully didn’t adjust anything on these photo so you could see how the light muddied the colors of the land as well as the sky.  You’re seeing exactly what I saw.

The Badlands contains one of the richest fossil beds in the word, fossils of ancient animals such as horses, camel, and rhinoceroses, as well as seashells and sea creatures.  The Lakota found fossils here before white people arrived on the scene.  Whether you think these fossils and layers of earth were formed millions of years ago or during a world-wide flood, this is a prime area for them.

The park’s almost 244,000 acres are half on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, that half co-managed with the Oglala Sioux Tribe.  The Badlands Wilderness Area covers  over 64,000 acres as was the site for reintroduction of bison.  Live Science points out the difference between what most people call buffalo and true buffalo.  All clear now?  🙂

The American bison (Bison bison) lives only in North America, while the two main buffalo species reside in Africa and Asia. A small population of bison relatives called the European bison (Bison bonasus) lives in isolated parts of Poland.

Unfortunately, there were no Bison bison or any other animals around during this visit, although I did spot an eagle and some other birds.

Enough background.  Just sit back and relax while I drive.  We’ll stop often because you have to get out and take time to look in all directions while marveling at the formations.  We have plenty of water (and snacks, if you get hungry) and lots of time.