The Badlands

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I didn't have a clear picture in my mind of what the Badlands would actually look like. As it turns out, they got their name from early French-Canadian trappers who dubbed the area les mauvaises terres à traverser—literally, "bad lands to cross." It seems like an incredibly fitting name, especially if you’re the one trying to navigate across them!

Located in southwestern South Dakota near Rapid City, Badlands National Park spans nearly 250,000 acres of protected mixed-grass prairie, rich fossil beds, and, of course, those striking, jagged formations carved by millennia of relentless erosion.

We finally rolled in after another long day of driving east on Interstate 90. Once the camper was set up and the air conditioners were humming away, fighting hard against the sweltering 97° heat, we decided it was the perfect time to grab some dinner and head out into the park for the evening.

I’ll let the photographs do the talking from here. But first, hats off once again to the National Park Service—they truly know how to design road access that both beautifully preserves the landscape and makes it incredibly accessible for the rest of us to enjoy.Read more