Who Knew About HooDoos - The Wonders of The Badlands!

When first planning our trip, we talked about visiting the Badlands. I'd heard of them, of course, but didn't know much about the area, and was not expecting the mysterious and remarkable place that is Badlands National Park. Chiseled by the winds, sculpted by water, and burnished by erosion into a vast array of landforms, the Badlands are a unique profile of rugged spires, peaks, pinnacles and folded earth.

The shapes of the Badlands are amazing - other worldly - and painted with all the vivid colors of the earth. The landforms were created over 75 million years, through deposit of different types of soil - sandstone, limestone, clay, ash, shale and others - distributed by flowing water, winds and volcanic eruptions. The bands of color represent different periods of time. Geological ages that differed not only in time but in climate as well - varying in temperature and amount of moisture - formed multiple layers giving the rocks their striped appearance.

Erosion played its part as well. Beginning some 500,000 years ago, the Cheyenne and White Rivers began to wear away the surface, forming canyons and peaks, and all the nooks and crannies that make up the face of the Badlands. Over time, as the waters receded and climates changed, the minerals in the soil emerged, creating bands of colors in the rocks. The winds too sculpted the land creating rugged spires and hoodoos.

What the heck is a HooDoo? Turns out, that's a real thing - who knew? HooDoos (also known as a tent rock, fairy chimney or earth pyramid) are tall thin spires of rock that are formed by erosion and weathering from wind, rain and running water.

The Badlands are rich with geological records - fossils found here include the bones of mammoths, ancient horses, rhinos, camels and saber-toothed cats as well as many types of reptiles and insects. There were no dinosaurs here but the bones of large marine animals and insects have also been discovered, evidence of the waters that once covered the region.

The Badlands also include wide open spaces - prairies and grasslands - that stretch out for long distances between the rocky buttes and hills. Looking across the plains it feels like an endless expanse of land and sky.

What I found to be most unique about this landscape was the ever-changing light that came from monsterous clouds casting shadows over the ground. Blown about by strong winds, the clouds moved rapidly across the sky. We could stand in one area and watch the shadows march across the ground changing the mood of the landscape entirely in a matter of minutes. One minute it would be brooding and melancholy, dark with stormy clouds and the next the colors vivid and brilliant with landforms boldly appearing as the light changed.

This area is also home to many types of animals and birds - in particular we saw whole "cities" of prairie dogs popping up to see what's happening above ground.

Bison grazing on the prairie reminded us of the Lakota Indians who used to hunt here.

A lone buffalo, snoozing....or meditating? ... in the sun.

And this hefty fella who was scratching an itch by rubbing against the posts around the parking area - he was huge!

The microcosm of the Badlands was represented too, in unique insects harvesting the nectar of wildflowers.

And the unusual blossoms of Blue Vervain -

This herd of horses grazed on the edge of the grasslands.

Sunbeams streaming down through the clouds.

The ribbon of the road, with heat mirage making patterns, stretching endlessly into the distance.

And the clouds cradled in the hollow of the mountains.

While named "mako sica" meaning "Bad Lands" by the Lakota, for its harsh environment, we found there is a lot of good in this magical place.