Petrified forest

Some time ago I read a quote by a photographer who, when asked "how do I get more interesting pictures?" replied, "stand in front of more interesting stuff".  The Badlands is a place teeming with interesting "stuff".  I have been to the Badlands before, but never with a camera.  For 3 days I experienced a whole new way of "seeing" an incredibly beautiful place. 

On our last day in the park, a visit to the petrified forest yielded some fantastic sights.  Wood - that has turned to stone!  It seems impossible.

Petrified wood & a prickly pear cactus

The shapes and swirls of the wood grain - now turned to stone - are incredibly beautiful.

The terrain speaks of strength, yet within the Badlands is a fragile, vulnerable ecosystem.  The yellow clover that is seen in many of these photos is not native - it is an introduced species.  The bison do not eat it if they can find something else to feed on.  It has completely taken over some parts of the park.

I hope that all I've taken from this place is memories and photographs; and left nothing behind but footprints along the paths meant for humans.

"This broken country extends back from the river for many miles and has been called always by Indian, French voyager and American trappers alike, the Bad Lands."

Theodore Roosevelt