Badands National Park: Door Trail

In my trip planning I read about five trails in Badlands National Park that I wanted to hike. I didn't realize until I got there that the trailheads for three of them were all in virtually the same spot  But I am a big fan of convenience, so I had no issue with it.

First up -- the Door Trail, so named because it goes through a "door" in the Badlands Wall.

The trail starts with a boardwalk that ends on an observation deck before heading out into the Badlands itself.  As I was setting up to shoot the low morning sun illuminating the rocks, I realized that through some odd phenomenon I could actually see a shadow of my own profile through the lens.  Well, that I HAD to shoot.

That low morning sun I mentioned?  It did a beautiful job lighting up the severe formations.

If Arches National Park is like Mars with its red sandstone landscape, Badlands is more reminiscent of the moon.  Well, if the moon had an atmosphere that could produce a bright blue sky.

The trail heads pretty much straight southeast, which at the time of day I was out meant straight into the sun.  It made keeping track of the trail a bit tricky, even with the numbered markers set out.

Sun or no sun, it was pretty easy to determine when it was time to turn around.

Some vegetation still manages to eke out a meager existence in this harsh terrain.

The landscape ceased to look real eventually, and instead appeared like the backdrop for some cheesy old sci-fi flick.  I should just Photoshop a crashed rocket ship in the foreground.

The trail's just a mile roundtrip; so it didn't take very long to finish it.  Even so, I didn't see another soul the entire hike which just added to the overall sense of desolation.  Not that surprising for South Dakota in late November, I suppose.  But everyone else's loss was my gain!