Badlands are badass

[NOTE: I had trouble uploading these files, so this was meant to be posted a long time ago when we were in the Badlands.]

Coming in to the Badlands National Park is like driving into the set of Star Trek. You feel like you’re in another world.  Every turn you take is a new vista into something you think you never could have imagined.  The mountains slice the sky with each jagged edge. And when the sun hits it just right, it provides a very interesting contrast of light and dark on either side of the hill.

Apparently 37 million years ago this whole area looked like everything else around it. The Black Hills to the West were volcanoes and erupted ash into the air, causing sediment to fall in this area. And then about 500,000 years ago, erosion started and created what is now known as the Badlands.

The interesting thing about this place is that it always changes. Not just the view out of your windshield with every turn you take, but rather you can find new colors in the same view depending on the time of day. Sometimes the mountains are white, sometimes they’re red. Occasionally you can even see yellow mounds.

Oh yea, and prairie dogs are probably the most adorable rodents we’ve ever seen.  They’re hard to miss as they are almost everywhere.

Enjoy the pictures.

Fair weather campers

Ok, we admit it, we’re fair weather campers.

We first got a hint about our true orientation when we were in Yellowstone. It was our first morning there and Marc awoke to a wet sleeping bag. Thankfully, James was spared, but the trauma was shared. There’s just something about a wet sleeping bag that can evoke a sense of dread in anyone.

As our trip progressed, we realized that we were most likely facing days of cold & wet. Two ingredients that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemies.  Well, ok, maybe I would. But still…

And so we decided to go indoors. We started this trip with the intention of camping out every night – both to save a tad on expenses but also to get the most “experience” that would could.

But forget that, we’re cold.

And so now we’re going to hostel & hotel it the rest of the trip until the weather report becomes predictable enough to summon the bravery to face the cold.