While South Dakota may not be a place associated with Spring Break, that is where my best friend, Mary, and I found ourselves last week for a whirlwind couple of days in the Black Hills and the Badlands. And even though it was freezing—and let me tell you, it was freezing—it was an unforgettable experience. 

Badlands National Park appeared suddenly out of the grey swirl of snow flurries in the March air. One moment, the roads were bordered by snow-covered flat expanses of grassland, and the next we were pulling through an empty pay stand to find ourselves in the middle of an alien landscape. 

South Dakota's Badlands were formed millions of years ago through processes of deposition and erosion. The layers of rock are composed of volcanic ash, sandstone, paleosol, ocean mud, and shale deposited by rivers, seas, and floods. Five-hundred thousand years ago, the Cheyenne River began to capture streams and rivers flowing from the Black Hills into the Badlands region, and the river cut deep gorges and spires into the once flat landscape. Now, the Badlands erode away at the rate of one inch per year. As quickly as the gorgeous canyons were formed, geologists predict they will crumble away. 

Our first view of the Badlands was from Door Trail. The wind cut through my gloves and boots immediately, so strong it nearly knocked me over at moments. But that first view out over the outer "wall" and down into the canyons was breathtaking and worth the cold. Without another soul in sight, we gazed down at the staggering majesty of snow-powdered cliffs until our noses and fingertips were numb.

Luckily, we found that the other trails were more sheltered from the biting wind. Alone still, we caught another view through the wall along Window Trail. We followed the tracks of frozen footprints, mesmerized by the duality of cracked desert land and ice and snow. This world felt at once foreign yet familiar, harsh yet inviting, beautiful yet barren. The earth crumbled beneath our feet as we climbed up Saddle Pass Trail, along the path of frozen rivulets, halted mid-erosion. We paused at the top of one of the sedimentary spires, looking out over the rolling grasslands and canyons, able to sit in awe of the natural beauty around us without another person to interrupt our ruminations. 

Enjoy these photos from our experience below! As always, click on any photo to enlarge it and use the arrows to navigate through the slideshow. 

Stay tuned for the next installments of our South Dakota adventure, including a visit to Mt. Rushmore, hiking in Black Hills National Forest in Custer State Park, and a tour of Wind Cave National Park.