Badlands, Badlands, Whatcha Gonna Do…

Jurassic Park was a lie. There were never any dinosaurs at Badlands, the park was an ocean when dinosaurs were around.

Badlands was the first park on our trip. After driving aimlessly down I-90 for the better part of two days, Badlands seems to come out of nowhere. Just miles and miles of prairie and farmland and then all of the sudden the landscape turns into outer space. It’s wild. We camped a pretty decent ways into the park on our first night at the park, right in with the bison, prairie dogs, and coyotes. It was amazing.

The next morning we explored the park, which is pretty marvelous in how desolate the landscape seems. We watched a coyote attempt to catch prairie dogs, and watched tourists get too close to bighorn sheep.

However there was a high of 106 that day, and Badlands does not have much to offer in terms of shade. So we spent the better part of the afternoon trying to beat the heat at a couple local watering holes. The next morning, it was off to the Black Hills.

The entrance sign to Badlands National Park.
The entrance sign to Badlands National Park.
Badlands National Parl
Driving into Badlands on our first night.
Sage Creek Campground
Sage Creek Campground, the campground we stayed in on our first night at Badlands. Note the herd of bison to the right.
A lone bison wanders across the road from our campsite.
A lone bison wanders across the road from our campsite.
A view of the Badlands.
One of the many views Badlands has to offer. It just seems to go on for miles.
A bighorn sheep.
We caught this bighorn sheep eating some grass on the side of the road.
Wagon Wheel Bar and Grill
The inside of the Wagon Wheel Bar and Grill, where we tried to beat the heat.
The sunset from Cedar Pass Campground, our second stop at Badlands, looking northeast.
The sunset from Cedar Pass Campground, looking northeast.
Us, during the sunset at the Cedar Pass campground.
Us, during the sunset at the Cedar Pass campground.