Badlands National Park

After touring through the Black Hills area, Erika and I spent the night in Deadwood. The town was overrun with bikers. Unknowingly, we had decided to visit South Dakota during one of the craziest times- the start of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Erika and I stopped by Sturgis on our way to the Badlands. Needless to say, there were more bikers than one could ever imagine. It was cool to see the spectacle, but it didn't take long before we were both itching to be back in open spaces again. We continued on our journey and spent the day touring and hiking through Badlands National Park.

Brightly colored mounds and rolling prairie define the Badlands. There's undeniable beauty in this stark landscape, as if the negative space helps to highlight the brilliance hidden within its subtlety. It doesn't wow you with soaring granite walls or broad canyons. It appears barren under the noon day sun's harsh rays. But, as the sun sinks in the sky and the shadows grow long, a transformation occurs. The landscape grows colorful-- pinks, purples and reds burst from rocky mounds, the prairie burns electric green, and the sunset stretches out against a sky already littered with twinkling stars. It is that image that stays with you- the technicolor grassland of our wildest imaginations.