When I mention the Badlands, what comes to mind?
Vast stretches of inhospitable desert?
A dry, hot, dusty world where you're more likely to stumble over a skeleton than a stream of water?
Endless wandering through miles and miles of wilderness?
The Badlands at Badlands National Park are all that and more.
But not this year. The summer of 2019 has been wet and cool. In Rapid City we have gotten 18.88 inches of rainfall so far. That might not seem like very much to easterners, but our normal annual rainfall is 18.32 inches. We're only in early July, and we've already topped our normal amount for the year.
Extra rain can be good or bad. Here in ranching country, it's mostly good. Extra rain means extra-rich grass and multiple cuttings of hay.
It also means a different view of the Badlands. Someone told my husband that we had to make a trip out there this year, so we took a day and did just that.
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The first thing we noticed was the color!
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The badlands are normally this dry-clay gray. But this year they're brown - wet and brown.
And the grass!
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By this time in the summer, they're usually sporting this color combination...
But this year? We saw colors we only see in the spring in normal years.
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I had always wondered why the early ranchers settled here. After all, it isn't a very hospitable place. Back east, ranchers talk about how many cattle they run per acre. Out here, it's the number of acres per cow. Water makes all the difference in the world.
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All I can think is that those early homesteaders first saw the Badlands during a wet summer and fell in love. I know I can't get enough of visiting there - wet years or dry!
If you ever visit the Badlands, a great place to stop to learn about those early ranchers is at the Prairie Homestead.
You can read about this historic site here. We had planned to stop on this trip, but arrived too early in the morning...they hadn't opened yet. We hope to catch them on the next trip!
If you were one of those early homesteaders, would you have chosen to settle in the Badlands?
Jan Drexler spent her childhood dreaming of living in the Wild West and is now thrilled to call the Black Hills of South Dakota her home. When she isn’t writing she spends much of her time satisfying her cross-stitch addiction or hiking and enjoying the Black Hills with her husband of more than thirty-six years.
If you were one of those early homesteaders, would you have chosen to settle in the Badlands?
Jan Drexler spent her childhood dreaming of living in the Wild West and is now thrilled to call the Black Hills of South Dakota her home. When she isn’t writing she spends much of her time satisfying her cross-stitch addiction or hiking and enjoying the Black Hills with her husband of more than thirty-six years.
Well, Jan, you are right. I never saw the Badlands look like that. Of course, the area was in a drought when we lived there. Even snow was scarce during our time. Not the bone-chilling cold, though. Still, I've never seen the Badlands so green. They're absolutely beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThis is our second wet year in a row, so we seem to be moving into a new weather pattern. We've also had cooler temperatures this year - later this week they're forecasting temps in the 90's for only the second time this summer.
DeleteWe're enjoying it while we can! We know the drought years will be back. :-)
Wow -- what a contrast in the pictures! I have to admit, these Irish eyes prefer the green! So, if I was a homesteader I'd pretty much just be passing through. lol And where are the tree? I don't think I could live without trees! What did the cattle leave on without any grass? It boggles the mind that they stayed. Just shows the grit and determination of the early pioneers.
ReplyDeleteOh, child of the eastern woodlands, this is the West. Wide open prairies, big skies, grasslands stretching to horizon, and very few trees. There are some cedars in the Badlands, and cottonwoods along the streams and rivers. But as a rule, you don't see trees until you get to the Black Hills.
DeleteAnd in the pictures from 2016, the grass is there, but it has gone dormant. The prairie grasses go dormant between late June and sometime in August, but they retain their nutrients (unlike other grasses that just die.) These grasses have sustained bison, cattle, antelope, deer, etc. for thousands of years. I think the early pioneers figured that where bison can live in such huge herds, cattle can too.
But I agree with you - those early pioneers had grit and determination!
These are fascinating pictures, Jan. And I love the way you set it up. I figured you were going to debunk all those impressions, but they're correct. I'm not sure if I ever had any more than a vague sense of the Badlands as Wild West Territory. Your photos are an education for this East Coast gal.
ReplyDeleteThe Badlands are definitely the Wild West! When you drive through the park on the main road, they are awesome. But when you hike the trails, you get a better idea of just how easy it would be to get lost there (and tourists and experienced hikers do every year!)
DeleteOne thing about living in/near a wilderness area is that you learn to respect the climate, terrain, and animals. Of course, you do the same thing when you live in a city! I'm sure you travel around NYC often, and taking precautions is just second nature.
What an amazing difference, Jan! It truly does give it a whole different feel. It's got a beauty all its own!
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly right, Missy!
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