Good days in the Badlands (15-16 July)

 We didn't expect to have such good weather conditions in the Badlands! When we left Sioux City on the morning of the 15th we were soon greeted by pouring rain. Our visit to the "monument" at Wounded Knee was brief and wet. Actually, there are only a few benches and a marker retelling the story of the awful massacre that took place here. We were disappointed with the lack of attention paid to this dark moment of American history. However, a native American told us that the elders of the community did not want the place to become a tourist attraction.

Site of the Wounded Knee Massacre

Driving further, we entered the Badlands State Park at the White River Visitor Center and following the Ranger's advice, drove out a rough dirt road and up Sheep Mountain to enjoy the stunning view of the valley below us. There followed a longish drive to the south-east entrance of the park, a brief meal in a biker-beiz (motorcycles, not mountain bikes) and then we could drive the Badlands loop and admire all the amazing rock formations. And yes, the fellow at the Wounded Knee memorial was right: the rain stopped, the sun came out and the views were simply astonishing.

We spent the whole afternoon and early evening exploring the canyons and plateaus of the park. We also saw numerous animals: big horn sheep, prong horned antilope, rabbits, prarie dogs, deer. Luckily we didn't see any rattle snakes! We enjoyed the park so much that we decided to get up early next morning to see how the sunrise colored the buttes. However, the sun was hidden behind a thick cloud. We drove through the park anyway, visiting some of the areas we had left out the day before.

And in the afternoon, Emil cycled all 47 miles of the loop. I was satisfied with my 16 miles, having left out two smaller passes and "just" traversing the plains area touching on several viewpoints.

In the late afternoon we walked the few blocks into Wall and visited main street with its quaint shops and old-fashioned mall. Wall Drugs is a forerunner of the modern mall with little shops selling all manner of artifacts, t-shirts, pottery, jewelry, etc.

 

 

My favorite "shot" of a Big Horn Sheep and her baby