It's About the (RV) Journey....: Good in the Badlands.......

So enjoying this campground! What a great location. We are staying in the Badlands/White River KOA, see here for more info. The staff is wonderful, so helpful and always working! We are having a rather large order from Amazon Prime being delivered here, which is also a huge help for us, and they don't mind at all!

From the campground and the hill above it, we can see the Badlands. We have been walking up the hill each evening at sunset to try to get a nice picture of a sunset view of the rock formations. Its so scenic up there. Not only can we see the Badlands, but we have a great view over a meadow. Tom spotted an owl, and it is somewhere in that meadow each evening. Our daily challenge is to get a picture of it. Hahaha.

owl on the prowl

sunset view of Badlands from our country road

another shot of the owl

that's our campground behind me-across from this country road

Our first evening here at the campground, we were walking along the "nature trail" around the campground, which actually is right along the White River, and spotted tons of cliff swallows flying around like crazy. So many of them! Underneath the bridge, there are hundreds of nests, and the swallows go back into their nests for just a minute after flying around in a swarm. They were so erratic, we think they were feeding their young. It is so cool to watch. After reading up a little about these birds, I learned they fly crazily in flocks to catch insects on their wings. They build mud nests on cliff edges, and under bridges. Look for them on highways overpasses in the summer! When they are in their nests, there heads peak out. Very very cool to see.

the White River-next to our campground

cliff swallows nesting on the bridge next to our campground

tons of nests!

And for a grand finale on our first night in this campground, a lightning storm that was magnificent the way it lit up the sky behind the storm clouds!

lightning storm

Since we have the luxury of spending several days in this area, we decided to take our time exploring the Badlands. For more information on the Badlands National Park, click here. Our first stop was the Visitor Center, where we stayed for the movie, examined the displays and got ourselves oriented. We also talked to the ranger about future hikes. Speaking of rangers, we are so disappointed that the Ranger led "Night Sky" program doesn't start until June! Hopefully we will get some clear nights here with some good stargazing.

Our first day in the Badlands, we drove the scenic loop road, stopping at most of the overlooks to admire the views. It is amazing what erosion can do. The various colors and shapes of the landscape are simply due to deposition and erosion over millions of years.

Badlands view

We also took a few short hikes, which were fun. It was windy, but not too hot yet, thankfully! The summer is really brutal here. The Door and The Window were two of the most popular walks, and we had lots of company!

overlook at the start of the "Door" hike

here we go

crevices and outcroppings...both

are you on the moon Tom?

really amazing

looking up

following the trail

here we are at the end

Of course, we saw a million signs for Wall Drug for miles along the interstate, and we had to stop there. Our intention was to buy groceries, but guess what? Its a Roadside America type of attraction, which I did not realize. See here. That's not really our thing, so we left after a quick walk-through, and stopped at a grocery store down the road for more supplies.

Let's check out the cafe!

Continuing on the scenic loop, we took our time, looking for wildlife. We were rewarded for our patience (and keen eye-hahah!) with spotting some fauna. Sometimes things are right in front of you, and you don't see them until you take the time to stop and focus. (Well, that is a pretty deep thought....). Anyway, a lot of the prairie dog "towns" were on the other side of the road from the exquisite geological formations and the scenic overlooks.

Prairie dog towns

Fun to watch

the sentinels!

Pronghorns

more Pronghorns

Big Horn Sheep-way high up!

cliff swallows and their nests

There are so many geological formations here in the Badlands. Some formations were really colorful, with yellow/pink/gray and so different from the angular outcroppings that look like pyramids or sandcastles. The yellow color is caused by the deposition of black ocean mud which was weathered and turned yellow once exposed to air millions of years ago. There are also canyons, hoodoos and flat top outcroppings to see. Amazing. Lots of the area is barren and dry, and then there are some areas with grass and small plants.