The Beauty of the Buttes

You'll Love Our Buns!

With a greeting like this, how could I not stop in the local bakery for three apple fritters to fuel us on to our next adventure - Badlands National Park.

We resisted bakeries in every town so far. 
Willpower meets marketing. 

Notice the sign doesn't say Welcome - just Entering.
Also notice the wires sticking up on the top of the sign. 
Definitely not a welcoming place.

Badlands National Park is a place of contrasts. It contains two prairies separated by a divider of buttes called The Wall. Remember Wall Drug? The town takes its name from this almost impassable line of rock. 

More rattlesnakes?

Our first hike was through a separation between two buttes, aptly named The Door. It allowed us to walk the floor of the desolate Badlands. This trail called for careful footing.

Through The Door
or is it Down the Rabbit Hole?

Beautiful desolation

This "brainy" feature felt like a cross between
concrete and styrofoam.

View of the prairie from the top

As we came around a corner, there was a different-looking rock area called Yellow Mounds. I was impressed that the National Park Service allowed us to hike and touch anything in the park. Most parks have "stay on trail" and "do not touch" signs.

The mustard yellow color is a type of rust.

One final picture, this one from Dave, showing the beauty of the buttes. They were impressive, treacherous, inspiring, and dangerous. What more could you want in a vacation?

A beaut of a butte.