Bad To the Bone Badlands

Yellowstone National Park is 8,000 feet up the mountain where we had snow and now we are in the Badlands is 3,000 feet and the temp is 82F.

The Badlands are beautiful.

This is the first time I have seen a Bighorn. This female bighorn was sitting on top of this mountain just relaxing and enjoying the view. :-)

As we are touring around the Badlands I spot a Bighorn on top of a mountain.  We stopped and went as close as we could get to get a photo.  I am standing here looking at this masculine Bighorn and so impressed.  Wow-what a sight to see.  I LOOK over and see another one on another cliff just hanging out.  First time ever to see this wildlife.

Time for lunch.  We stopped at an area designated for picnics.  Since there are no trees I loved how they built these wood canopies to protect you from the sun as you enjoyed your lunch. A meadowlark joined us for lunch.

We walked the boardwalk to see fossils in the rocks.  Sorta freaked me out when the first sign I see is Beware of the Rattlesnakes.

As we were traveling around the Badlands a group of Dodge Chargers pulled in and lined their cars up against the mountain.  They were there for pictures.  Check out the shirts they were wearing.

Female Big Horn is much smaller.  This one looks like it has been tagged by the park and has a tracking device on.  One of her horns has been broken off.

More awesome views of the Badlands.

Love the many layers of colors.

Look at those fall colors on the mountains

Robert's Prairie Dog Town.  These dogs just sit up and look at you looking at them.  LOL

A group of BMW motorcycles stopped to pose for a group photo of their adventure out west.

Saw this female and her baby which was hiding.  Can you spot the baby?

This was so interesting to go and hear about the Minuteman Missiles.  If you don't know the history of these missiles then please take time to look it up.

The last stop of the day is WALL DRUGS.  There are so many signs along the road drawing your attention to this place.  It truly is worth the stop.  The little town is charming also.

Marlon is trying to take this bison down.  I'm riding a jackalope.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

We are up and eating breakfast at 6:30am and out the door at 7am to head to The Theodore Roosevelt National Park North Unit. On the way to Roosevelt park which took an hour to get there.   The land was filled with many pumps pumping for oil.  The steer was right there among the oil rigs.  Many fields were full of large round hay bales.  Does anyone know why there are round bales along the highway?  I thought it was odd to see the highway lined with bales of grass/hay.  I have to say this national park was very exciting as I got to see bison so close I could have touched them but I didn't.  Check out these videos before seeing the rest of the park.

We have arrived at the Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  Marlon & I have never been to this park before.  So excited to see what the day holds for our journey.  I am happy we are here early no traffic just a few cars beside us. We didn't get very far into the park and I spotted this bison all by himself.

 As we were driving along I spotted this deer down by a small river. 
The next stop is the Cannonball Concretions Pullout. Marlon and I hiked around this area to get up close to the cannonball-like stones.

Lots of cannonballs

There weren't a lot of flowers in this area and there weren't a lot of water sources.  The grounds are mostly prairie grasses.

River Bend Overlook was a breathtaking sight to see. This place is all a part of the Badlands.  The Civilian Conservation Corps built the structure.  We walked down the trail to the building and the view was breathtaking.

We have now come across lots of bison.  Small herds and a lot of the herds had lots of calves.  Calves are born with fur that is red or tan. They are referred to as "red dogs" or cinnamons.