Badlands Residency Day 15


April 5, 2012

I'm writing as I wait for the water to get turned back on. We had plans to make a group dinner again, but mid-afternoon the water was unexpectedly turned off. No one seems to know when it will come on again, so dinner prep could get interesting.

Let's see, this morning I hiked the fossil trail and a bit of the castle trail with Steven, on a mission to find a little boy's lost stuffed raccoon. On our way to the wagon wheel last night, we were stopped by a mom who was looking to speak with a park employee. Raccoon missing, boy distraught, mom frazzled. Steven exchanged phone numbers with her in case someone at the visitor's center has it. This morning, the mom had already called Steven twice, from Colorado. She's headed to Philly next, still hoping to get that raccoon back. We tried to locate it, but failed. Drove back to the quad, and drove past Ed on the way in; he stopped to tell us about a bake sale in Interior today. We followed him over there, and had sloppy joes, salads, and a vast assortment of pie. Went to the grocery store and post office at Interior as well for some supplies and to say hi to John, who is the post master. I did some work in the apartment this afternoon, with a break to visit with Tricia and Steven. Seems Interior has been a busy little town this week. Today someone drove into the post office, apparently after we left. Last I heard the truck was still imbedded in the wall of the building. Earlier this week they had a mentally unstable woman hanging around, harassing the post office and other people. Someone managed to piece together that she is from LA and was arrested there for stalking Ellen DeGeneres and her wife. Seems she left town and somehow ended up here, in Interior, SD, population 67.

Weather looks to be stormy tomorrow, so it will likely be a painting day. Steven and John (photographers and AiRs, present and past) have been asking for a watercolor lesson, so we might do that tomorrow. I also have work to do for a really exciting project possibility that's evolving with the national park service. More to come as that plays out.

Oh, and a note to Ethan and Kieran: when I take you camping here this summer, Ed has said that he'll take you out fossil hunting and teach you all the cool stuff. Something to look forward to!

Alright, off to check in with the others and figure out dinner. I'm hungry!


Part of the castle trail.

On the way back.

Badlands Residency Day 14

April 4, 2012

Hard to believe I've been here for two weeks already. Had another great day. Steven and I took off at 10am for the Big Foot Pass area. Parked there, then walked down the road a ways, over the edge of the shoulder, and down into the canyons (we took a reasonably sloped route, nothing too crazy). Spent until 5:30 or later out there, exploring all the canyons and dry stream beds. A lot of climbing, some pretty steep. My definition of “steep” has distinctly changed in the last two weeks. I'm now happily attacking climbs that would have intimidated me when I first got here. The soil is very unstable and crumbly, but I now have the hang of how to approach climbing on the different surfaces here.  I can even sort of ski down some slopes that are too steep to walk down, and just a few days ago I would have been crab walking them using my hands and bottom to control the decent.  After lots of photographs, climbing, fossil looking, etc. we hiked back to the car. It is wednesday, which is the day that the NPS folks head down to the wagon wheel, so we did that for a while. Then Ed and Steven came over for english muffin pizzas. The moon is so bright here now, being almost full, that there is no need for a flashlight outside and there are deep and distinct shadows on the rock formations. Ed drove me out to the door/window area for a night hike, and wow is that area cool by moonlight. The buttes, canyons, and rock nodules looked amazing. We could hear coyotes in the distance, too. If the clouds hold off tomorrow evening, we'll get more people together for another night hike while the moon is bright.

It's late and I'm wiped out, so I'll go through today's photographs and post some tomorrow morning.




The main road through the park is off to the right, and up.

Hiked away from the road through the dry creek beds.
Some impressive evidence of erosion.
Steven there for scale.

Yuccas above the dry creek.


Continued hiking towards
the badlands outcrops.



Scrambled up a canyon, hiked over to the tallest peak,
and sat there for a while, taking it in.

Looking back with Steven in the middle to show scale.

Looking down from the top of another canyon.


A shadowy self portrait.


Back up by the road, looking down on where we were.