I love The Badlands. It was my Papaw's favorite place he visited with my Mamaw when they would travel across country. I definitely understand why. These buttes, pinnacles, and spires made of sand and clay at first glance look so delicate. They have been forming, evolving, and standing strong for millions of years, almost 75 million to be exact. The other thing that makes the badlands stand out is that they are surrounded by the biggest protected grasslands in the US... So basically they are in the middle of nowhere! There was an area in the park that showed the fossils of animals and sea creatures that once inhabited the park - Will's favorite being the ammonite. I thought this was really special because in the place that my Papaw once adored lived the very thing that the love of my life is inspired by through his pottery, and actually collects. It's the little things. I could go on about the science of the park and how erosion and deposition created these buttes, but lets just say nature and time are very powerful and beautiful things. Speaking of time. I can't believe it has already been a week since we were hiking through these incredible sandstones. Traveling for a long time gets hard because you start to miss home, but my urge to travel will never go away. It only gets worse when I get to experience a life of constantly being amazed by the earth we live on. The badlands will always hold a special place in my heart. When I'm there I feel as if my Papaw is there with me, almost as if I'm looking at it through his eyes, and seeing what he loved about this special place.
