Last Park (for a long while)

Well, I am really sad to say our trip is winding down.  We visited the last National Park of our vacation and we can count the number of days left on our trip on one hand. 

The last park on this grand vacation was Badlands National Park in South Dakota. 

We hit the Badlands on a great day and a great time of day.  The sun was low in the sky making the colors pop out. 

The temperature was also quite pleasant for climbing and hiking around in the hills (a.k.a buttes). 

We had a nice picnic dinner and afterwards we told the kids they could once again climb on the “playground”.  I turned around to see my 5 year old leading the pack half way to the top!

My 7 year old isn’t one bit afraid of stepping out on the overlooks either.

It was fun to walk around in the midst of the Badlands.  The mounds (“buttes”) look and feel up close like your walking on plaster of paris.   While we were hiking the kids spotted some wild mountain goats ahead.

 

They kept their eyes on us and we kept our eyes on them and our distance from them.    We also saw a wild rabbit hop right in front of us on a walk way to an overlook.   It’s so fun to see these wild animals in their natural habitat. 

We finished our hike just in time to barely catch the sun dip behind the clouds on the horizon.

Then we set off to try and find a camp site for our last night of camping this trip. 

It’s a little sad to have finished our last National Park of this trip.  It really has been so amazing to have this time together as a family and enjoying God’s creation.  I love the beauty and the uniqueness of His creation.  I also enjoy seeing how vastly different the various regions of our country are.  It’s been fun to experience different climates and cultures and even accents.