Day Two- Badlands

Yesterday began with an early wake up. The Granola Group was packed and ready to proceed with our quest by 830. But what would a quest be without a challenge? Our first challenge loomed in the distance waiting for us to arrive. It's evil beckoned us to come and we had no choice as it was vital to our survival. That's right people- I'm talking about Walmart. We arrived in the Walmart parking lot to purchase food for the next few days. By parking lot I really mean tornado. Rapid City is like an alien planet. The land is extremely flat and contains basically no trees. In this way, all buildings contain a bit of harshness to them as they are exposed to the elements. There is nothing to buffer the powerful wind. The walk from our van to the inside of Walmart was treacherous. I thought the smallest amongst us would be blown away. I don't see how the citizens of Rapid City manage to do their hair- or take prom pictures. We gathered enough food to last us a few days, and enough of various other substances to get into that Mountain Moonshine culture. ;) 

Thus began our official trip into the Badlands. The temperature changed drastically. The combination of low temperature, high wind, and cloudy skies were a cruel awakening for me as I stepped out of the van at the entrance of the Badlands National Park. After we all put another layer on, we ventured through the Upper Prarie of the Badlands. The view is almost indescribable, but I'll do my best. The rock formations that comprise the Badlands almost look like that of a mini Grand Caynon. The formations are grey with parallel red stripes that run along every formation horizontally. This red coloration represents an oxidized soil horizon. 

After much exploring, we loaded up and found our campsite. My two tent mates and I set up our new home in the grassland. At this point, the Badlands seemed very eerie to me, and to be honest, I was not sure if I liked them.  Although they were certainly magnificent in formation, I did not find them very beautiful. However, after we set up our campsite, the sun came out, the cloudy skies and cold temperatures dissapeared, and the rocks began to glow. It was here that I found the Badlands to be amazing in their own unique way. They are harshly beautiful- if that makes sense. With the sun out, the temptation to further explore was easy. We loaded up again and proceeded to see formations that were so beautiful they emulated pride rock from the Lion King. Despite their large size and vastness, the Badlands are anything but solid. In fact, they are slowly disappearing. The formations are made up of highly eroded sediment. They are so eroded that an inch a year disappears from the formations. Come take it all in while you can! There was one moment when I was sitting by myself looking out over the mixture of grassland and formation, and it was one of the most beautiful sights I had ever seen- and so quiet. It is impossible to find anywhere that quite back home. There is always the distant murmur of cars or lawn mowers. The rest of our exploration included finding hidden caves, and the occasional Lord of the Rings reenactment (basically just done by me and myself). That night we dined on spaghetti, salad, and bread. The environment is very harsh in the Badlands. When the sun is out it is extremely hot, but as soon as it goes behind a cloud, it gets chilly. Last night was cold cold cold. My sleeping bag is supposed to survive 20 degree temperatures but I was cold all night! I did not sleep very well. That is still one area of camping I have not mastered. Besides that, I'd say our adventures so far have been amazing.

COLD but warm with pheebs ;) 

Kelly!!

Tentmates!!

The rooms doin her thing