West 2022 - Last Evening in Badlands NP

After my searing hike up Saddle Pass and around the loop trail, and a quick visit to Wall Drug, I returned for my final evening in Badlands National Park. Also, I had decided on doing a couple more hikes, albeit very short hikes.

Before I get to the evening hikes, I couldn’t wait to share this evening photo of a huge bison I saw right before nightfall. Not only that, he was perfectly silhouetted on the ridge line with perfect color all around. It was an awesome moment.

What I call, the classic bison stance. Badlands National Park, Sage Creek Rim Road, June 2022. © 1inawesomewonder 2022.

Anyway, please enjoy the pictures. I know they don’t do the scenes the full justice of being there in person, but some of them are pretty decent illustrations of what I loved about Badlands National Park. Click on the pictures. Zoom in and have a look around. There is a lot to see.

: I pulled into the parking area for a trail called “The Door”. I got out to walk over to the trailhead and I couldn’t fully believe it was still this hot! As I turned the bend from the trail start, it opened up to this view. © 1inawesomewonder 2022.

: I walked through “The Door” and into one of the most bizarre landscapes I had ever seen. You could feel the heat rising from the rock. As I looked around it became difficult to see where exactly the trail went. © 1inawesomewonder 2022.

: They say that Wall, SD is named after “The Wall” of Badlands between prairie lands. They say that “The Wall” made travel between the prairies impossible back in the frontier days. Ummm, this might be part of the reason why. © 1inawesomewonder 2022.

: Thankfully, there were yellow posts standing in the rock along the trail otherwise who knows where I would have ended up. It was also good to know that I had reached the end of the trail because I hadn’t felt like I was on a trail in the first place. © 1inawesomewonder 2022.

: This was one of the views coming back from the end of the trail. © 1inawesomewonder 2022.

: Panoramic scene right near The Door Trail. © 1inawesomewonder 2022.

: Every turn on the roads in the park held a new surprise whether it be land, animal, sky, or anything else. © 1inawesomewonder 2022.

: I stopped to look at another incredible rock formation and turned toward my vehicle only to see this deer munching grass opposite the rocks I had been looking at. © 1inawesomewonder 2022.

: I saw this deer at the bottom of a ravine that was near a stream. After leaving this deer alone, I drove up a steep hill covered in rock and gravel to find several photographers taking pictures of other deer further up the ravine. © 1inawesomewonder 2022.

: On my last evening, on my last leg of driving through Badlands National Park, I came across this bison. The sky was a bit lighter as I faced west. This massive animal visited several posts, stopping to scratch the underbelly numerous times. I also saw another bison knock one of these deep embedded posts over like it was a candle in a birthday cake. Immense size and power. © 1inawesomewonder 2022.

Burns Basin Overlook – Badlands National Park

: Alright. These two pictures are here for their beauty but also because they are literally across a paved road from each other. This is Burns Basin, looking southwest. I walked out onto the rocks (carefully) along the hint of a short trail. I found a saddle of rock and sat to watch the skies and look at the land. I prayed, and I thanked God for sharing such beauty with me. It was a spectacularly beautiful, quiet place. This place, on that night was all that an evening in Badlands could be. © 1inawesomewonder 2022.

: After my walk out on the rocks toward Burns Basin I returned to the trailhead (if you want to call it that) and the parking area. Even being there, I could not believe the difference in views from one side of the road to the other side. It was slightly cooler in the parking area, even with the pavement, because the rocks of the basin hold so much heat. Then the contrasting view to the other side of the park road; well that was cool too. © 1inawesomewonder 2022.