Badlands

Canceled July 20, 2010

(counted as our second park)

We took months planning our two week family summer vacation. It was strategically designed to visit as many national parks as possible. We packed our 2008 Honda Accord and left on a Friday evening. We found a hotel and slept in West Virginia. Next we drove to visit relatives in Missouri. The next day we traveled until we made it to Badlands National Park.

The South Dakota badlands are unusual geologic rock formations, cliffs and canyons. The Badlands is the fastest eroding landscape on earth. The park is the largest mixed-grass prairie ecosystem in the National Park system.

Our favorite hikes were Fossil Exhibit Trail, Notch Trail, Cliff Shelf Nature Trail and Saddle Pass Trail. Our lodging was inside the park in a very small cabin. We enjoyed seeing mammal fossil remains, colored mounds, and some wildlife. We saw black tailed prairie dogs, horned lizards and big horn sheep. Overall, this park is a very unique and diverse park to visit in the Great Plains.

We went back to Badlands in July 2013. We saw big horn sheep and hiked within this wilderness of withered rock. Once again, we admired Mount Rushmore and had a wonderful time traveling together in America.