The Beautifulands

When I entered the Badlands National Park in South Dakota, I decided to make a congressional decision and change the name to the Beautifulands National Park. I realize the historical significance to the name “Badlands”, but I truly think the park is negatively associated due to the word “Bad” in the title. Would you honestly visit a place called “Crappyland”…? NO WAY.

But this park is truly beautiful and very mysterious. I was lucky to be there to witness a weather change and how it impacts the change in color of the Badlands. As I was hiking in a T-shirt early in the morning with a blue sky and a light breeze the layers in the Badlands weren’t as evident as it was when a storm came through, it dropped 20 degrees, and began to snow. I was completely amazed by this park, I have never seen anything like it in my life it was like I was in another country. Any photograph I took couldn’t do the landscape justice.

As for wildlife at the park I saw it mostly at a great distance. The park has a vast amount of land designated as wilderness, and I unfortunately didn’t have the time to venture through it. Hey if you were an animal would you be in a location where annoying people (like me) were driving around trying to take pictures of me. Not really. However I did see a lot of western birds that I haven’t seen before such as the Mountain Bluebird, Western Meadowlark, and the Magpie. But my favorite encounter by far was with my new favorite animal, the Prairie Dog. I say that now, but I’m sure when I leave Theodore Roosevelt National Park I will think of them like squirrels. But they really are a funny little animal. As I drove along the grassland portion of the badlands all you could see is little mounds at a distance, as you approached closer you heard the funniest sound that sounded like a bird screaming, and then you saw the little animals scrambling around to get to their home, and as you continue on you can see them poke the head out of the ground to sound the alarm that it’s all clear.