Wall (Badlands NP 2)

This morning we had a light snowfall. The actual temperature was in the double digits, but wind chill brought it back down to single digits. I don’t think I saw a reading much above 20 degrees all day.

My plan was to check out one of the locations where bighorn sheep had been reported, then drive the Sage Creek Rim road. No sheep at the suggested location, so I started driving back down the road to the intersection where I would turn off for Sage Creek. A couple of miles up the road, lo and behold, there were the sheep. This was neither of the spots mentioned by the rangers at the visitor center. That’s wildlife for you. It was a bit of a challenge as there were two narrow pullouts in the area, but it was not a location with an overlook with parking spaces. One other person was already there photographing. She and I stayed with the sheep for a couple of hours. Others came and left. Several got out of their cars with their phone and approached the sheep far too closely for comfort. Have you seen the horns on these animals? There is a reason they are called bighorn sheep. I have become convinced phone photography should be banned in locations with wildlife. People used to urban environments apparently fail to understand that these are wild animals. As cute and placid as they appear to be, one unlucky moment and you are the recipient of a horn gore.

I stopped to speak with Jean as I was heading out to drive the Sage Creek Rim road. We actually both stayed in our cars and talked from the windows. She had the same reaction as I did to the looks-loos. Jean lives and works on a ranch near here. Photography and storytelling is part of her ranching life. Here work can be found here .

The first part of the rim road is gravel, but it is well-maintained. I passed a prairie-dog town on the way out, but they all seemed to be in their burrows. I can’t blame them - it was darn cold. I approached one of the over looks and saw a herd of bison - maybe a couple of dozen - standing IN the overlook. And I saw a small blue sedan trying to park in the overlook. Really??? The woman practically drove into the herd, forcing them to stampeded down the cliff. I did not quite make it in time to record that particular piece of idiocy. She then got out of her car to take her phone photo. That situation could also have gone very differently. She has no idea how lucky she was.

I shot some beautiful scenery of the badlands covered in snow. And on the way back, I saw that the prairie dogs were out. It must have warmed up a few degrees. They were scavenging for food, eating twigs encrusted with ice. They all seemed quite fat and happy. According to the NPS : As the winter approaches, prairie dogs eat more and more food to fatten up for the colder season. However, they don’t actually hibernate for the winter. Instead, they will go into a state of torpor, in which an animal’s body temperature, breathing rate, and metabolic rate all decrease. The animal becomes lethargic, but unlike a hibernating animal, is still awake. Their activities remain slow but normal throughout the winter season. In Spring they come out of torpor and resume activities at a normal rate.

I arrived back at my room in the early afternoon with over 1300 images. That is a record for this trip. I have picked a few to post, but will circle back at a later time and process additional images to add to the gallery.

A word about my lodging here in Wall. I’m staying at the Badlands Frontier Cabins . Like other cabins, these are basic but functional. The main attraction in the small town of Wall is Wall Drug . Wall drug started in 1931 to provide travelers free ice water. It has gown into an eclectic assortment of shops and a large cafe. It is pretty kitchy but if you are here, it is a requisite stop.

This is my last day in South Dakota. Tomorrow I head north to North Dakota. While it will remain bitterly cold, no storms are predicted.