Badlands National Park, SD

Had a pleasant morning with Billy grilling bison ribeye steaks on the grill to go along with eggs and toast for breakfast.  "Life is Good Today!"  Then we loaded up the truck to visit the Badlands National Park about an hour away.  Yoo Hoo!  Used that National Park yearly pass again.  It has more than paid for itself.  The Sage Creek Rim Road has spectacular views and we saw plenty of bison, deer, pronghorn, prairie dogs and one eagle.  Bah!  Didn't see a bighorn sheep.  Really wanted to spend more time out of the truck; however, signs warned of Plague being in the National Park possibly being carried by the Prairie Dogs and fleas that had bitten the Prairie Dogs.  We had Maggie May with us and although she has flea protection we didn't want to take the chance of contacting Plague through a flea bite.  Also, prairie rattlesnakes are abundant in the area and again, I had on flip flops.  It has been much warmer these last two days.

More than you may ever want to know about Badlands geology follows.  Deep canyons, towering spires, and flat-topped tables can all be found among Badlands buttes.  They are the result of two basic processes:  deposition and erosion.  The Badlands terrain did not begin eroding until about 500,000 years ago when water began to cut down through the rock layers, carving fantastic shapes into what had been a flat floodplain.  The ancient fossil soils, buried for millions of years, became exposed again.  Erosion is ongoing.  Every time it rains, more sediment is washed from the buttes.  Evidence suggests that they will erode completely away in another 500,000 years.  On average, Badlands buttes erode one inch each year.  If you look at the buttes you will notice that the Badlands were deposited in layers (resulting in different colors).  These layers formed soft, sedimentary rocks, composed of minute grains of sand, silt and clay that have been cemented into solid form.  Geologists (what I will be in my next life) study the rocks to determine what type of environment caused the material to accumulate.  The oldest layers are at the bottom.   I will describe the bottom and oldest layer and you MAY "Google" if you want to learn more.  The oldest formation exposed in the Badlands is the Pierre Shale.  These black layers were deposited between 69 and 75 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period when a shallow, inland sea stretched across what is now the Great Plains.  Sediment filtered through the sea water, forming a black mud on the sea floor that has since hardened into shale.  Fossil clams, ammonites, and sea reptiles confirm the sea environment many millions of years ago.    Okay, I'll describe the very top layer of the buttes and leave it to you to explore the layers in between.  The lighter colored Sharps Formation on top was primarily deposited from 28 to 30 million years ago by wind and water as the climate continued to dry and cool.  Volcanic eruptions to the west continued to supply ash during this time.  Today, the Brule and Sharps form the more rugged peaks and canyons of the Badlands. 

On the return trip to Rapid City we visited the city of Wall and went to the famous Wall Drug Store.  Wall is a cutle little reproduction of an old Western town.  There are great shops up and down both sides of the street and the famous Wall Drug Store is HUGE.  I could have done some lengthy browsing, but Billy is just not interested in retail therapy.  Like most men, he doesn't see the point.  Stopped off at an RV superstore on the way home to purchase a new jack, and I ran into Cabelas to look into the "deep discount" room.  After a stop at McDonald's and of course Wally World we are safely tucked into our little RV for the evening!  "Life is Good Today!"

Will probably not post a blog for tomorrow as we are taking the truck in for yet another oil change, but I guarantee you that life will be good again tomorrow.  Thank you so much for stopping by.  Please leave us a comment.