What's so bad about the Badlands?

“a friend of mine today alluded to some "bad" quality about the Badlands (where I'm going to be in a couple of weeks) that has nothing to do with the general accepted reason for being called the badlands (its a bad place to be without food water or shelter), but wont tell me what hes talking about. anybody got a clue?”

“I believe it arose from a type-o.

They were originally supposed to be called the Radlands.”

“I had always assumed it was because of its geomorphology. Quite a stark contrast from the huge expanses of prairies and mountains of hither.

Maybe the name originated from the Indian Wars. A hostile place for pioneers/soldiers but a great hide out for Sitting Bull.

Heck if I know!”

“I visited it last summer. It's very hot and dry. The canyons are cool, you can see the different layers of rock and dirt. They have quite a few nice day hikes and the helicopter ride is worth the money.”

“I have some pics, if you want I'll scan them in. How soon are you going?”

“The reason it was called "Badlands" is because it was a brutal place to cross.”

“wva:

i leave for the badlands on friday the 13th

boy, if thats not a bad luck statement i dont know what is”

“Anyone ever hike through the "unexploded ordinance" section of the park? I'm just curious. Was it a blast...err...ummm...sorry?

BTW, the North Dakota Badlands in Teddy Roosevelt NP are really great. I prefer them to the SD version, although the scenery is not quite as dramatic. It's just a much more low-key place with fewer visitors.”

“I call them the "Super-bad Lands"! If you hit them just right at sunrise or sunset they're gorgeous! There are some really interesting fossils there and they've got lots of exhibits.
After you tour the Badlands you can go up to Wall Drug and look at the giant, plastic brontosaurus!”

“Only 1100 miles to Wall Drug.”

“Those signs are like weeds.”

“I'll be in Deadwood the 13th through the 15th. Can't remember where we're staying, but I bet it has a casino, and hopefully a golf course.”

“Well it was brutally hot and dry when I visited on a late spring trip. Kicked my a$$, which I count as "bad."

I'll echo what RL said; when I was at Teddy Roosevelt NP in ND a couple Memorial Days ago, there were six (6) backpackers in the backcountry and the one group of 4 said they came each year for 3 years and this was the most crowded it had ever been on that holiday weekend. There were just a few folks in the regular campground, and only a half-dozen dayhikers.”

“RL, I journeyed up to the Sheep Mountain overlook. It's so cool, looks down on hoo-doos kinda like Bryce, but of the Badland color sediments and striations. Little cedar bushes (or some such thing) have prayer flags on them. It's a sacred place.

Sheep "Mountain" sits on the edge of the old ordnance testing grounds. They are to the west. And it's ORDNANCE... not ordinance. hehehe. (You're a teacher, or I'd let that one go, RL!)

Here's some links on the use of the gunnery range:

Find it on this park page

Military page (it's under Army Corps of Engineers? Weird)

It was a whole lotta nuthin' looking to the West from Sheep Mountain. I wanted to go there. :-) The site of the Ghost Dance from Wounded Knee days is somewhere in this vicinity. I wonder if it was part of the gunnery range? Knowing the U.S. government, PROBABLY.”

“Damn that Wall Drug! I think I wasted an hour I could have been hiking to stop at Wall Drug for "free ice water" (from a warm fountain).

However, look for the sign that has a picture of a sign in Africa pointing to Wall Drug with mileage.... It's a couple hundred miles before you reach Wall Drug heading from Chicago....”

“Yep, the first time I was out there, I went to Wall Drug. Even got the Free Ice Water too.
Never been back, don't plan to either.”

“They have a good Dairy Queen in Wall. I'd stop there instead.”