Several of my last posts have been of one amazing day in Badlands National Park, especially an incredible afternoon and evening when storm clouds came in and wildlife showed. A big part of the magical experience was sharing it with a great photographer and man, my son Dan. Much of the fun in capturing the scenes was when the color popped in the saturated land. However, stripping away the color provides another experience, so here are some black and white views from that day starting with two sunrise images when the sky was clear.
Castle trail sunrise
The rainy weather left some water in small creek and provided a nice reflection and addition to the scene.
Creek and cottonwood
Resting at the campsite in the afternoon we watched the clouds come in over the classic Badland features near the Ben Reifel Visitor center and campground. The afternoon was looking promising, so a shot before hitting the road to explore.
One of our first surprise stops was to watch the ewes and lambs cavorting on ridges.
Ewe view
The Yellow Mounds area is the most colorful part of the park, but sometimes it shows off in monochrome as well.
Yellow Mounds storm
We’ll end this just outside the Park looking back to the rain approaching the Badlands Wall.
Rain over the Wall