The Badlands

Before I delve into the rest of my spring hikes I wanted to write one final post from my extended South Dakota stay.  The good news - I'm finally back in Oregon!  Although I enjoyed the nice long visit with my family and am grateful to my parents for taking care of me post-surgery, it's good to be home.

The grand view

One of my favorite places to visit while in South Dakota is Badlands National Park.  Before my illness, hospitalization, and surgery, it had been firmly on this trip's agenda.  But - life threw me a curve ball, so change in plans.   Now recovering from my ordeal, it took a few weeks before I felt well enough to think about venturing to the park.  Also, since I didn't have a vehicle, I had to rely on family members for transport.  Luckily I was able to talk my sister into driving there one July evening.

Colorful hills

It was a hot and extremely humid late afternoon as my sis and I made our way along the scenic road through Badlands National Park.  Although the Badlands is known for it's unique landscapes - colorful eroded hills stretching for miles - my main reason for this trip was to capture wildlife.  Two years ago, I came upon a large herd of bighorn sheep and was hoping to have the same luck finding them again.

Small roadside flower

My sister was glad to have an excuse to visit the Badlands.  Despite living in South Dakota all of her life, she had only been to the Badlands once before - a couple of years ago with me.  Even though people live close to these wonderful natural attractions, often the only time they visit is when there's company.  I was happy to provide the reason!

Eroded hills

The plan was to drive through the park, and my sister agreed to pull over anywhere that caught my eye.  First up was an area of the park called the "Yellow Mounds" where the soil had muted yellow hues.  Although I stop here every time I visit, it's always good for a few more photo ops!

My happy sis!

We pulled into another scenic overlook parking area.  I spotted a lady looking up into a large tree, so of course I went over to check it out.  The tree was full of yellow and gray birds (which I later identified as Kingbirds).  Several young fledglings were perched in the branches, waiting for their mothers to return with food.

Kingbirds waiting for mama

I'd never seen Kingbirds before (I don't think they live in the Pacific NW) so I was fascinated by these lovely yellow birds.

Feeding time

A pair of fledglings sat on a tree branch in full view, so I only had to zoom in to capture the two cuties.  Even better, I was also able to photograph their mother's arrival and get in on feeding time.

Another baby kingbird being fed

The Kingbirds were a welcome sighting, but I was after some Bighorn sheep.  Sis drove the park road for a few miles but there were none to be found.  I was beginning to think I'd miss out.  But then we rounded a bend and noticed vehicles parked along the road.  And walking among them were the sheep!

Bighorn sheep!

A large herd of mothers and babies - ewes and lambs - were contentedly munching grass along the road.

Little lamb right by the road

Oh my gosh I'd hit the jackpot!  Excitedly I jumped out of the car and started firing my camera's shutter.

I loved their fluffy ears

There were lots of young Bighorn sheep.   Many were just starting to grow their horns - I noticed tiny nubs on the top of some heads.  And I just loved the lamb's white fluffy ears.

Ewe standing on a hill

Speaking of horns, of course I kept a safe distance from both the ewes and lambs.  Those mama sheep had fairly large horns and sharp hooves.  I didn't want to upset any of the mothers by getting too close.  Thank goodness for my big zoom lens!

Feeding time

I was lucky enough to observe several lambs feeding from their mamas.  Although now old enough to eat vegetation, the lambs must've still needed to supplement their diet with mother's milk.

Talkative ewe

A few of the ewes were equipped with radio collars around their necks.  It appeared as though the National Park staff was monitoring the Bighorn sheep herds.

Another cute lamb

My sister took a few pics of me in action.  Since I'm always behind the lens, it was great to have a few photos of myself - which I can share with you all.  Thanks sis!

Capturing the action (photo courtesy of my sis)

I took way too many images of the adorable baby Bighorn sheep.  And I couldn't decide which ones to feature in this blog so I'm including them all in a huge photo dump.  Enjoy the cuteness!

A gang of lambs

Sweet baby

Checking out the scenery

Checking me out

High on a vantage point

Two inquisitive lambs

Finally after logging several hundred images of Bighorn sheep babies I finally decided I'd taken enough photographs, so my sis and I jumped back in the car and headed further down the park road.  We traveled another mile or so when we spotted another interesting vantage point.  Pulling into the parking area, I noticed several people looking into a nearby draw.  Peering into the small canyon, we noticed two Bighorn sheep rams.  One was lying on top of a small hill and the other was walking towards the first guy.

Two rams challenging each other

The second ram ventured to the top of the hill where the other ram was resting, and started pawing the earth with his hoof.  Accepting the challenge, the other ram rose up and began walking towards him.  

I think there's gonna be a fight!

And then the fight was on!  The two rams ran towards each other and knocked heads.  Their huge, curled horns locked together and the rams wrestled, each trying to overturn the other.

Crashing horns

What a sight!  My sis and I stood in awe watching these powerful animals battle.  The rams would scuffle for a few seconds, their horns locked tight.  Then they would retreat for a moment, only to instantly rush at each other for another round.  Although we were thankfully a safe distance away, we could hear the crash every time the ram's heads and horns collided.  The animals fought for about 5 minutes, then both rams abruptly stopped their skirmish and both laid down on top of the hill as if nothing had happened.

Prairie dog

Talk about being at the right place at the right time!  My sister and I felt very lucky to have witnessed a Bighorn sheep fight.  It was the highlight of our evening.

Colorful rock bands

After watching the duel, my sis drove down an adjacent gravel road that was full of prairie dog towns.  I was hoping to capture some pictures of burrowing owls, who nest near prairie dog holes, but we didn't spot any.  Still it was fun to watch the prairie dogs freak out when we got too close to their homes.  The little guys would squeak loudly, jump up and down, and frantically run in circles to warn their fellow mates.

Mega-erosion

My sis and I stopped at a few more scenic overlooks which I took full photographic advantage of.

More colorful eroded hills

The last item I wished to capture was a sunset over the Badland's eroded hills.  Spotting what I thought would be a nice sunset place, I asked my sister to retrace our route back to that specific overlook.

Another pic of me in action (Thanks sis!)

However, we misjudged sunset time and the sun started lowering much earlier than I'd anticipated.  When it didn't look like we'd get to my chosen overlook in time, I decided to stop at a different nearby location and see what I could get.

Evening light on the rock formations

The evening light illuminated the colorful cliffs and spires, producing some great color.

This area was especially colorful

The above shot was one of my favorites for color.

Panoramic view

There was a thick cloud bank hovering near the western horizon which combined with smoky, hazy skies from distant forest fires, didn't produce the amazing sky color I was hoping for.

Sun going down in hazy skies

I was able to capture this orangish glow emanating from the sun as it sunk behind some of the taller sculpted hills.

Another sunset pic

Higher up, the sun glowed an eerie red - again thanks to smoke from far-away forest fires.

The setting sun lit up these storm clouds

The better show was to the east, where a bank of thunderclouds began to light up in brilliant oranges and pinks, this colorful light due to reflections of from the setting sun.

Fantastic evening light on the Badlands

Once the sun slunk behind the horizon, I took advantage of some great shadow-free light on the surrounding colorful canyons (a very slow shutter speed and high ISO were necessary for this capture.)

Day's last light

My sis and I hung around until the light was nearly gone from the sky.  Then we settled in for the one-hour drive back home.  It was a late night for me, and I totally wore myself out (forgetting that I was still very much healing from my recent surgery.)  But despite overdoing things, seeing the Bighorn sheep (especially the rams fighting), the Kingbirds, the stunning scenery, and sunset was totally worth any fatigue.  

Badlands, I'll be back next year!