At the very first overlook just inside the Northeast Entrance, I instantly felt madly in love. From here you look out over what appears like a mini–Grand Canyon to the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands. I can’t even imagine what the first pioneers must have thought when they encountered such a rapid and drastic change in terrain. It was a dangerous kind of beautiful. One that takes your breath away and makes you question your own sanity. Can this be real? Am I dreaming?
When I got back into my car and started it, the radio came on. I must have inadvertently turned off the Pandora streaming while using my phone to get some shots. Curious if you could even get a radio signal out there, I ran a scan and it landed on 90.1 FM. The station was playing the most beautiful Native American Chant music. How perfect! I wound up listening to only this station the entire time I was in the Badlands, Hot Springs, and quite a way into Nebraska until the signal was lost.
The station, KILI 90.1 FM, the Voice of the Lakota Nation, was established in 1983 in Porcupine SD, and was "the very first Indian-controlled, Indian-owned and Indian-run radio station in the U.S.” Their offerings added to the strange ambiance of the area with its varied programming from community news and talk shows, to oldies tunes, to classic rock, to even dubstep, along with the Native American Chant music, which seemed to happen at specific points in the day, sunrise, sunset, and other random times which I am sure have some significance. It was like the DJs had their 1-4 hour shifts that they pretty much did whatever they were into. It reminded me of good college radio stations, so much so that I have even listened some since I returned home on a streaming platform on the internet.
It just so happened that the Park Rangers were holding a Night Sky program that evening at the outdoor amphitheater, a short walk from the campground. It was the perfect night for it; with the New Moon you could see practically every star in the sky, including the Milky Way. The program was amazing as they pointed out constellations, planets, and even the International Space Station doing a fly by. They also had huge telescopes set up and we took turns at close-ups of nebulas and deep space stars. I was inspired to take the rainfly off my tent when I got back to camp, and it was nice to fall asleep and wake occasionally through the night and see all the stars overhead.
At some point in the night, I woke to the sound of rustling and breathing outside my tent. I had a brief moment of terror, and then decided staring at the stars while some creature dismembered me wouldn’t be the absolute worst way to go out. When I heard some playful yipping sounds, I finally got up the nerve to peek out. It was two adorable coyote pups playing a yard or so from my tent. A few minutes later they moved into the night and were gone.
Afterwards, I went back and broke camp, loaded up, put the top down, and headed toward the Pinnacle Entrance on the west side of the park. I saw and shot lots more amazing scenes throughout the day and when I finally left the Badlands, headed to Hot Springs, I was so satiated and happy. My heart was full. I was at peace like I had not been in a very long time. I waved good-bye, turned up 90.1 FM, and headed back to the world from which I had come, onward to my next adventure.
If you came to this first through the blog, know
that there are more photos on the related Facebook post
Google Album for these photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/xi3aaiyVbL9ZPfKF8
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