The Badlands; Photos and Words (part 1 of 2)
On Science and Spirit
~Spirit~
There are many places in this world which are magical and sacred, the South Dakota Big Badlands is a preeminent place that embodies this mystic nature. Here a man can converse with the gods themselves, here strange energies flow through your very soul and energize it, vitalize it. In the words of Frank Lloyd Wright, “I was totally unprepared for the revelation called the Dakota Bad Lands…What I saw gave me an indescribable sense of mysterious elsewhere - a distant architecture, ethereal…, an endless supernatural world more spiritual than earth but created out of it.”
~Science~
The badlands act as one of the greatest biological laboratories in the world. One of the last refuges for natural grasslands. The most successful species reintroductions ever with the black-footed ferret.
It is a geologists playground; gem hunters will be amazed by the fairburn agate, rattlestones, and fluorescent opal that can be found. This area has nearly the highest concentration of fossils in the world. As one travels up through the layers the evidence for evolution become apparent, you can watch the early changes in mammals as they adapt from subtropical to steppe like conditions. The ones that didn’t adapt died off, those that survived became the ancestors of today’s modern mammals. Cats, dogs, bears, pigs, horses, camels, deer, their evolution is plainly written in the rock layers of South Dakotas Big Badlands.
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As I sat and watched the sun begin to set the melody of leopard frogs wafted up from the fractilated ravines below. Soon the coyotes began to wail in counter point and the whole of the cacophony was emblazoned on the wall before me in stark and vivid golden hues. Life springs from the cold of winter if only for one day in February when the temperature climbed to 81 degrees fahrenheit. Only 2 days before it was 10 below zero.
Burns Basin
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There are only a few places in the world this remote. I could spend weeks here and never see another soul. I have spent weeks here and I didn’t see anyone but the ghosts of the ancients. That is the way of this land. Anything that moves can kill you or is already dead. This land is sacred for a reason, it fills your mind and soul with visions. When you get closer to the edge of civilization your spirit can enter a start of freedom not available in modern living. The forgotten path of the shaman and nature…
Planet Rises Over Gods Window
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The South Unit of the Big Badlands National Park is run under the jurisdiction of the Lakota Nation in cooperation with the National Park Service. There are many misunderstandings and much bad blood between the Lakota and the government of the U.S. It is my dream that one day these problems will be cleansed but it will take the power of both the peoples involved. Most Americans don’t understand that the Lakota nation was an independent nation outside of the power of the U.S. for hundreds of years until around 1890’s. That’s not that long ago, only a few generations. Shannon county is the poorest county in the U.S. and has been since the wars. Until a few years ago it was national policy to force indigenous people to forget there old way of life and force them to give up their native language. Americans should remember every day that they are living in stolen land taken in bloodied violence. Women, children, the elderly were killed just as often as the warriors. I guess we never learn, there is always someone less than you that should be vanquished… is this the legacy that we defend, is this the way we really want our nation to be. We Must Have Unity.
Hunger Moon Rises
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Tragopogon dubius or goatsbeard is a widespread plant throughout the US. Introduced from Europe it is also known as yellow salsify due to the flower of narrow yellow petals. Goatsbeard is a member of the Asteraceae or Aster Family, the second largest family of flowering plants next to the orchids.
The Big Badlands of South Dakota is home to North Americas largest natural wild grasslands, A sight that is extremely rare. Since the settlement of the midwest and high plains the grasslands have been plowed under to make way for grains such as wheat, sunflower, corn, soy, hops, etc… the native prairie of the Great Plains has been reduced to less than 2% of its original range. Of 460 species of plants in the park around 100 are not native, being brought by settlers as ornamentals from there native lands or by hitching a ride in clothing or in animal manure.
Goatsbeard
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To Be Continued…
Tags: badlands, Macro Photos, Nature, Night Photos, Photography, south dakota
June 18th, 2010 at 12:19 am
Well, I was very impressed with that. I told my Mom and she agreed with me. I would definitely want to hear anything else on this. Excellent!