Badlands National Park, part 2

Saturday, June 3
After all the dark clouds and wind yesterday we woke up to a beautiful clear, sunny day. Perfect for touring! After breakfast and all the usual chores we loaded the pups in the truck and headed west on Badlands Loop Rd. With the good light the sculptured layers really were showy.

Big Foot Pass

One of our first stops was the beautiful pink and white stripped area known as Big Foot Pass. Not the Big Foot of forest fame, this was a Sioux leader who took his band through this pass to participate in the battle of Wounded Knee.


This is rough terrain to travel in moccasins, or any other footwear for that matter. They knew the trails through this area well though, as it was their hunting ground - antelope, big horn sheep, and bison were here in abundance in those days.

I'm not sure what the Sioux did with the Prairie dogs  back then, but if they were a food source the tribe ate well. We have never seen such huge areas marked with the little piles of dirt that mark each borrow. Several of the very large meadows we passed were totally overrun with the little devils. They are cute, but at this point, the novelty has worn off!

The loop drive has several large pullouts for parking and a few have short trails so you can get out closer to the hills. The crowds have been minimal, so there's no trouble finding a parking space. The road is narrow, so these viewpoints are the only safe ways to get photos.

The yellow mounds area is really striking as it's about the only area in the park where the soils show the yellow colors. Various shades of reds, orange and grays are most common.

We rounded a corner after one view point and came across a small group of mountain sheep. They are so accustomed to traffic that they don't bat an eye, as long as the traffic is moving slowly.

At the Pinnacles overlook the paved road ends and a good gravel road named Sage Creek Rim Road picks up. We followed that through more views overlooking the Badlands Wilderness area, past a large herd of bison off in the distance, and then south into an area outside the national park - a good place for Watch and Shiner to have a romp.They seem to enjoy the variety in scenery almost as much as we do, and it was good for all of us to get out and stretch.

Back to camp for lunch and then spend a little time in the visitor's center. We were there last year but a review never hurts. Unfortunately their fossil lab was closed. Last year we watched several techs at work cleaning specimens and had a nice chat with the ranger in charge of that project.

Back in camp we enjoyed walking the dogs and talking with other campers. Our neighbors are visiting from Holland. We meet such interesting people as we travel!

Tomorrow morning we pack up and head for Rapid City.

Badlands album

Custer State Park part III - The Black Hills underground

There is so much to see aboveground in the Black Hills, and Custer State Park in particular, that it's easy to miss the other half of the scenery here. Fortunately there are two sites that make it easy to experience.

Neither of the caves that are open for tours are in the state park, but both are within easy driving distance. Neither of these caves features the "classic" stalactites and stalagmites that one often sees in photos of caves, but each has their own unique "claim to fame".

Wind Cave National Park is just south of Custer State Park. Discovered by settlers in 1881, it became our 7th national park in 1903.

We've heard from other campers that road to the cave is a favorite place for Elk to hang out in the early morning and late evening hours. We didn't see any elk, but they aren't always predictable and we were probably out a little later than their preferred grazing hours.

Wind Cave, so named for the blast of wind that sometimes moves out of the very small opening, which was originally the only opening, is regarded as sacred by several Native American tribes, and is considered by some to be the origin place for the human race. Many Native American tribes' origin stories involve people coming up from underground, through a small opening. It makes one wonder when the same story occurs in so many cultures. This tiny opening was the only access point when the cave was discovered, and remained so during much of the early work in mapping the cave's chambers and passageways.

There are over 100 miles of mapped passageways, and researchers know from barometric studies that they have only explored and mapped a small percentage of what exists. Estimates of the mapped area indicate that it's about 5% of the total area the cave covers. This means, in short, that the entire area is honeycombed with caves. It's amazing that the whole surface doesn't collapse!

Boxwork

About 60 million years ago the geologic force that uplifted the Rocky Mountains also uplifted the Black Hills, producing large fractures and cracks in the limestone layers that had formed over the area. Over millions of years water slowly seeped through those cracks, dissolving the limestone, to produce the cave's passages. Later erosion removed the softer stone, leaving the harder calcite deposits that had been left behind in cracks in the soft limestone. These thin, honeycomb like formations are called "boxwork".  It seems this is actually a fairly rare formation, and about 90% of the known boxwork in caves is located here.

Passageways in this cave are very narrow, and though the Park Service has placed limited lighting in areas that assist visitors in seeing the depth of side tunnels and some of the formations it's difficult to really get a perspective on just how deep some of the side rooms and channels are.

The narrow passageways make the tour a bit of a challenge. When you look up, you may hit your head on the wall behind you, if you turn around to take a photo, your elbow may brush the wall - all things to be avoided by the way, to avoid contaminating the atmosphere and damaging the formations.  Not for the claustrophobic, to be sure, but an interesting tour none the less.

The Wind Cave geology driving tour brochure does a great job of explaining the geology of formations seen throughout the park.


Jewel Cave National Monument - the third longest cave system in the world, to the west of our camping area, was our second experience with the underground wonders of the Black Hills. By the time we reached this park we'd already climbed so many stairs, and hiked over so many steep hills, that we opted for the short tour.

Calcite crystals in the wall

The cave "room" in which we gathered to hear the ranger's presentation was lined with calcite crystals and limestone flows. It was spacious and well lit, so photos were a little easier to take, and there seemed to be, in this one area, a greater variety of forms. The tour included an informative presentation by the ranger and lots of time for questions and discussions.  It came up during the discussion that there is a distinct possibility that this cave is connected, somewhere, to Wind Cave.

So much of each cave remains unmapped it's hard to know. It does look as if they are both impacted by the same aquifer, so research continues.  It was a short tour, but not a disappointment. If we're here again we'll definately come back for a longer tour.

The entrance is at the end of the path, on the right

After leaving the cave proper we drove a mile up the road to Hell's Canyon, where the original cave entrance is located. After parking near the historic ranger cabin we followed the trail from the parking area up to the cabin, over the hill, down steep stairs, and along the edge of a cliff to the entrance which is protected by an iron door. This entrance is still used by some of the most strenuous tours.

While walking to the entrance there was an opportunity to view several places where the crystals and formations are visible along the path.

This entrance was used  from the time the monument was established in 1908 until 1972. The current entrance is through the visitors' center, which is the most informative of any we have visited in the Black Hills area. The center has displays and information on the cave, of course, but also other natural history of the area.

More photos of the caves.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park - South Unit

Aug. 10 - 12

We again traveled through miles of grassland before reaching the south unit of the park. This section has some of the same layered, colorful geology as the north, but the colors aren't as dramatic, and there seems to be more wildlife.

We'd just gotten things set up and Watch and I headed out to take our payment to the drop box when I noticed something moving in the trees behind our space, on the road. A buffalo looked up at me, and kept munching, but I turned around and went back to the trailer until he left. No point taking chances, and Watch always wants to shake hands with everything so we avoid those opportunities with wildlife!

I finally got the payment envelope dropped off, and we were back inside the trailer, getting dinner together, when Steve said "Look outside!"

Our space, and the one next to us, was full of buffalo! We'd heard they like to hang out in the campground and it does seem they're quite at home here, RV's and tents don't bother them in the least.

'Best advice to campers is "stay in your tent", we overheard a ranger say to another camper. "But what if they don't go away?" asked the camper. "Just stay in your tent" was the response. So, we did, so to speak.

The dogs sat inside and watched them through the screen door, and eventually they all wandered off. Talk about wildlife close up! We have noticed the buffalo walk slowly as they graze, so they seldom stay in one place for very long, that tent camper needn't have worried about them taking up residence in his site.

We took the 36 mile scenic drive, and thoroughly enjoyed the views, and the wildlife. The geologic formations are colorful, and as the shadows shift with the moving sun the colors change. Fascinating.

There are prairie dogs all over the place here, and they're FAT!

Excuse me! Who did you say is fat?

There are wide pull-outs at frequent intervals where the prairie dog villages are, so the little critters are accustomed to cars, people, and cameras.

They sit up and chatter and bark, and watch the people who are watching them. I suppose they think we are there to entertain them.

We heard coyotes singing during the night, so there are probably  a couple fewer of those prairie dogs now. Judging by the numbers they they aren't endangered by any means, and they are probably the reason the coyotes and other meat eaters thrive here.

There are cottontail rabbits too, but they are seldom seen, the presence of our dogs probably has something to do with that.

The Little Missouri River runs by the campground, but there's not much water in it. The area has had frequent light rains all summer though, which accounts for all the green grass and the wildflowers still blooming. I'm sure the buffalo are enjoying the pasture grass they wouldn't normally have this time of year.

South unit visitor center - This is the main visitor information center, where TR's Maltese Cross cabin has been relocated.

This cabin was built near where it is situated now, but the park service did move it in order to protect it. It was TR's home when he was here for the first few visits, but he found that so many people wanted to come and visit that he could not have the solitude he wanted, so he built another cabin, north of Medora by several miles. That cabin is completely gone now except for a few foundation stones, the rest of it carted off by collectors.

The visitor center museum has a lot of very nice artifacts and does a nice job of presenting the history in their displays. They also have very clever way of displaying Theodore's vest and other personal clothing items.

After touring the visitor center we took a tour of the Chateau De Mores State Historic Site, where the town of Medora began. A wealth French Marquis bought up much acreage in the area and built a beef processing and shipping business.

He convinced the Northern Pacific Railroad to build a station here, and once the settlement began to take shape he named the town after his wife Medora.

The Marquis' biggest contribution, I think, was the invention of a refrigerated shipping car. The cars were built with double walls which were filled with an ice/salt mixture, much like an old fashioned ice cream freezer. This device allowed for the local processing of beef, and subsequent shipment of it to eastern cities. Previously, cattle had been driven, on the hoof, to the slaughter plants closer to the east. In the process they often lost so much weight that the profit was lost. . . not to mention, the meat was tougher!

The Chateau, with red roof, in the distance

The marquis and his wife entertained many european and American visitors, and did so quite lavishly by local standards. Their home was so large the local residents dubbed it The Chateau.

The chateau isn't much by European standards, but the 27 room house (10 bedrooms) was pretty grand by local standards when it was built in 1884. It was built high on the cliffs overlooking the town. It is now maintained by the state as a historic site. All that remains of the once extensive meat processing plant is the tall brick chimney that is now at the center of a city park. (on the left in the photo) (Photos from inside the Chateau are in this album)

After the touring we went back to camp to give the dogs a bit of an outing and to have some lunch. A brief thunderstorm cooled things off, then we went back into Medora for a performance that had been recommended to us by another traveler.

Theodore Roosevelt Salute to the National Parks was "Absolutely delightful!" as Theodore Roosevelt might have said.
Joe Wiegand portrays Theodore Roosevelt in a one hour performance that is both entertaining and educational. He's obviously well versed in the history, and much of his dialog comes directly from Roosevelt's own writings. I'm currently reading Theodore Roosevelt's Letters to His Children, and have found many of the passages were used in developing the performance. Wiegand does a wonderful job of portraying Roosevelt's exuberance and it's infectious. As we all filed out after the performance you could tell by the big smiles and the tears in a few eyes how much everyone in the audience had been inspired.

Time to pack up, we're heading south. We made a brief stop at the third Theodore Roosevelt NP visitor center, Painted Canyon, for one last look at the beautiful mountains on the way out. The geology here is amazing and it's too bad we don't have more time to explore the surrounding areas.

The South Unit album is here

Theodore Roosevelt National Park - North Unit

Aug. 9
We'd been rolling over hwy. 85 for about 70 miles, through the edge of the Little Missouri National Grasslands, contemplating all the petroleum wells and storage tanks, intermixed with golden fields of wheat. We were commenting on how the tanks added variety to the seemingly constant rolling and otherwise flat green of the prairie when suddenly . . . Wow! what a view. This was our first glimpse of The Badlands, in the north unit of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

After all that flat, velvety green  grassland the deeply cut valley and colored hills were quite a surprise.

As an aside, relative to the recent bevy of activity in the oil fields here, North Dakota has done an exceptional job of keeping their roads in good shape in spite of all the oil field trucks. . . unlike Texas. We talked to a resident who said when all the activity heated up the state set aside a fund just to keep the infrastructure maintained. Smart politicians.

Arriving early made it easy to locate a campsite, so we dropped the trailer, had lunch, then headed out to the visitor center. It's housed in temporary buildings at the moment, but it looks like they'll soon be moving into a nice new log structure.

The scenic drive through the park is amazing. From lush prairie to fantastically eroded sandstone forms, views of the Little Missouri River at the bottom of the canyon, and BUFFALO!

We captured a couple of solitary fellows who were grazing fairly close to the road, and a small herd that was lower down in the canyon.

The vastness of the canyons, the depth of color and the amazing intricacy of the eroded cliffs are difficult to capture in photographs.

Even with a panorama photo, there is still that bit missing on the side that impacts the rest of the view. If you are a lover of wide vistas, this park's for you!

The contrast of blue sagebrush, golden and ruddy prairie grasses, and the jewel tones of the eroded mudstone layers would inspire any artist.

Not to mention the strange geologic formations that go beyond interesting erosion. This group of "bowling balls" is right at the entrance to our campground. On our drive through the park we saw mushroom shapes, tall spires, and layer cakes. Fascinating!

These Badlands are one of Mother Nature's finest accomplishments.

  (Click on any photo and it will take you into the photo album, where there are more photos of the area)

One can easily understand how Theodore Roosevelt became so enamoured with this area. The scenery is fantastic, the wildlife abundant (even more so in his day) and ranching here would certainly have provided the challenge he was looking for at that a time in his life.

For those who don't know TR's life story, the tragedy that drove him to seek hard work and solitude occurred when he was only 23, when his young wife died after giving birth to their first child. His mother died only a few hours later, in the same house. He was so distraught he left the baby with his sister to care for until he returned, and headed west. (A brief biography of Theodore Roosevelt can be found here)

We took a brief siesta in the afternoon, and when we awoke the beautiful sunny skies had been exchanged for Payne's gray - and some fantastic cloud forms. If I'd painted clouds like that no one would believe it.

A thunderstorm soon followed, so after enjoying the sounds and lightening show for awhile under the awning (fortunately Texas dogs are used to this sort of thing) we, and the dogs, all moved inside.
The North Unit album is here
We'll move on to the south unit of the park tomorrow.