Before we begin with this beautiful part of this journey, did anyone notice our huge error in the last posting?
On our last day in Custer, we went to the Game Lodge for breakfast. The State Game Lodge dates back to 1920 and was the summer White House for President Calvin Coolidge. We got caught in a traffic jam at the campground exit. This was the herd we had hoped to see for the last few days.
We wanted to stay at the campground longer to continue enjoying the beauty and gorgeous weather but there were no campsites available. Since we had to relocate, we headed for the Badlands, a land of colorful hills and stark scenery. After hooking up the RV we headed on our journey through the area.
We drove through the park admiring the colorful hills. The rock here is different than that of the Black Hills. The area was sea bottom 75 million years ago. As the waters receded what was left were large mounds of grey-black Pierre shale, which contains a rich collection of fossils. The other layers of rock are called Yellow Mounds paleosol and interior paleosol. These give the hills a banded appearance.
The top layers are volcanic ash turned into a dry gravel-like clay.
The land we see today has been revealed for about ½ million years.
Big-horn sheep roam the area. These seemed to know the tourists had arrived and settled into their comfortable poses.
This area also abounds in prairie dog towns.
We enjoyed an excellent evening program on the fossils of the area. There are specific directions for visitors finding fossils (and many do) and letting the paleontologists know where the fossil is located.
During the program, another ranger interrupted to point out the International Space Station flying overhead. Quite a sight indeed.
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