The Awesome Badlands

Montana is almost as large as California, but has only about as many people as the city of San Jose.  Soooo....there are lots of wide open spaces.  US 212 between the Little Bighorn battlefield and the Wyoming border is typically empty...of people, but not of scenery.  Rolls of hay are common, but often lie in uncommonly beautiful spots.

Traveling southeast from Broadus, the weather deteriorated rapidly.  The 25 knot southeasterly outflow winds in Broadus were a clue!  The  glowering skies in the pic quickly gave way to rain that fell for a good 80 miles, often quite robustly.

Well, as seems to often be the case I am chastising myself for not paying more attention to a wonderful place...in this case the Badlands!  I visited today for the first time since September 1971.  It wasn't even a national park back then...just a monument.  40 years is waaaaay too long an absence from such a gorgeous, surreal, mystical area.  The rain today really brought out the colors of the sedimentary rocks that make up the terrain hereabouts.  And the clouds were dramatic, to say the least.

A typical shot, with a nice blend of prairie grasses and colorful rock formations.

The shapes and contours of the Badlands make it a mystical place.  It reminds me of Bryce Canyon.

If the exotic rock formations weren't enough, the sky was filled with surrealistic clouds today!  Living on the west coast, it's easy to forget how dramatic and harsh...and spectacular...nature can be farther inland. 

No, the Solara wasn't photoshopped into this picture!  Simply amazing....and breathtaking.  A little dark...but it was a gray day, and I had to underexpose the shot to do justice to the clouds.

Another Badlands pic of dramatic landscape and awesome clouds.  I'm kind of scooting east, and gave Montana and western South Dakota only two days.  Three weeks would be more like it!  I have neglected these two states...this is only my fourth visit to Montana and third to SD.  More time needs to be spent here.  The scenery...and the weather...are spectacular, and there are vast reaches to explore.  Even Interstate 90 provides awesome views!  You don't even have to leave the freeway to enjoy this area...though, of course, there are many fine side roads too.  US 212 in SE Montana is highly recommended.