June 30, 2019.
It took awhile to identify the feeling when seeing the Badlands. Amazing, stunning, then mind blowing described the sights that went on for miles as we drove the Badlands Loop, stopped at overlooks, and walked the Door Trail. Ecstasy was the feeling!
I just wish the photos on this blog were a better representation of what we saw.
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I couldn’t imagine a more thrilling way to spend my birthday. Perhaps Bill had decided that since it was my birthday he would accept all my suggestions, and respond affirmatively to all my requests, because each time I said “let’s stop here” he pulled over. And, there were many more suggestions than he would typically have gone along with.
Since we have been in a paring down mode for the last year, the question arises about the value of hundreds, let alone thousands of pictures from a trip like this. Usually it’s not difficult to trim the number of images per attraction to 20 or so. That has been my goal. Unfortunately I have found that limiting to 50 images is too challenging for the Badlands. Fortunately, it doesn’t take much space to store images.
It was interesting to learn that the rock formations were not created by glacier travel and deposits as has always seemed to be the case. It was reported that these formations were soft and sludge like and under water millions of years ago. They are made of sandstone and still are changing annually. And kudos to the park officials who have determined that there will not be barriers, rails, and warning signs every where. There were many opportunities to climb and hike through higher risk areas. It helped that the surface was chalky and provided great traction.
The day was an extreme example of travel, Bill, and God coming together to create a seemingly heart blowing experience. God really out did himself with the Badlands.
So much more than travel 