Badlands National Park

South Dakota's Badlands are an amazing site to behold 

as spires and pinnacles contrast with grassy prairie lands.

The trails were really fun to explore. 

Once the boardwalk ends, you're free to explore on your own. Since there isn't a defined trail at this point, they have numbered poles so that you can find your way back to the parking lot. Thank goodness!

While here, I took the opportunity to photograph Journey in my wedding dress here amidst the Badlands.

A visit to the Badlands means driving thru some very interesting rock formations all thru out the park.

We spotted a herd of bighorn sheep bedded down on the prairie.

We spent time at the visitor center learning about the park while the kids completed their Junior Ranger books. It was shocking to see this fossil of a titanothere that was found nearby. It looked similar to a rhinoceros, though not related. Alligators were also found at the park indicating the area used to be under water.

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Here's a depiction of how they believe North America looked 

when South Dakota (the red dot) was under water.

After exploring, we surprised the kids with a few hours at an indoor waterpark! They LOVED it!