stop 5 - the badlands

One of the single most interesting and visually stimulating places I have ever visited has to be the Badlands National Park outside of Rapid City, South Dakota. The hills and cliffs are a mixture of red and tan sandstone that form very unique structures that blend right into the countryside. Most people go driving right by this park, never even aware of its existence. I was lucky enough to stop and drive through the park.


This was at the look out at our first stop in the park. I was quite skeptical about seeing snake this close to the parking lot, as people were all everywhere. However, when I mentioned to my dad that there was a pretty obvious warning for snakes, he calmly replied "Yeah, I know... I just about stepped on one." The snake ended up slithering off of a cliff, as my dad really startled it.


This may be one of my favorite pictures.


You can see the red and tan sandstone layering.


A look across the plain.


This scenery here is awesome.


This was taken on the eastbound trip in 2006... the balanced rock was not there in 2007.


A quick group photo of the 2007 westbound crew.


Field being Field.


The eastbound 2007 crew on top a short ridge.