Badlands National Park

Yesterday my friend Jayne and I hit the back road route, Hwy 44E, for a visit to the Badlands NP and Wall Drug...having NO clue it would turn out to be the most rewarding visit to date, excluding the hazy overcast weather. Near the town of Scenic, I took Forest Service Rd 590 (unpaved) N and then, entering the park, E along Sage Creek Rim Rd., which eventually connects with the paved loop road that travels W-E along the eastern half of the N Badlands area......all photos enlarge...click the photo, then click the back arrow to return to my blog...

We knew there are 'supposed' to be buffalo in the BNP, but had never come close to seeing any before Sun. Our first sightings, however, at the NW corner of the park along that dirt road, were in a landscape that did not have the Badlands formations...

We both thought, wouldn't it be fantastic to see buffalo IN the Badlands landscape? And we both thought it wouldn't happen...

However, it did! We came across this lone fellow amid the more yellow/pink mounds...

...Typical Badlands formations...I took a shot of the two guys walking out on a mound (bottom right) for perspective...

We came across female bighorn sheep and a lamb...

The youngster was just way too cute...it came towards me and I had to keep backing up to keep some distance between us...

I almost didn't see the sheep on top of the mounds across the road from where I parked...another female and her lamb...too far for great shots...

Moving along...The yellow mounds area...when these are wet they are brilliant...

...another perspective shot...see the tiny car in the upper center area?

...Tooling along, we suddenly came upon a coyote...at first it ran, but I knew that they always stop and look like deer do...

...But we sure didn't expect the coyote to stop and lay down! We think there must've been a good reason...nearby prey, carcass, young 'uns? 

...And more badass Badlands scenery...then it was on to Wall Drug for lunch and one of their 'famous' homemade badass donuts...mmmmm...

FYI...The Badlands NP loop road is approximately an hour's drive E from Rapid City, right off I-90.