Badlands

Bruce G. Snyder
______________________________________

P H O T O G R A P H Y

Badlands Region, South Dakota

Home Travelogue Links Equipment About Contact

If you've never visited the Badlands area of South Dakota, you
will probably have at least seen images of the eroded hills,
impenetrable canyons and a lunar-like landscape absent of
virtually all vegetation. You may not know, however, that vast
expanses of grassland prairie, herds of the great American
bison, and the hills, rivers and forests of the famed Black Hills
are all within this same diverse region.

My father, my son and I embarked on a three-generation trip
through this part of the American West in 2001 with a visit to
the town of Wall, an easy eight-mile drive to Badlands National
Park. Wall is probably best known for Wall Drug, the home of
"free ice water". Possibly the single most improbable location
to find a successful business, Wall Drug's history makes you
smile and shake your head at the same time.

Our drive south from Wall was through rolling, treeless
grassland, including the initial entry into the park. I found
myself wondering "Where the heck are the Badlands?" when
the upper prairie suddenly dropped away to reveal a no-man's
land of gullies and spires. Turning west on the road that skims
along the rim, the juxtaposition is stunning. To the right, rolling
grasslands. To the left, a barren, eroded landscape.

We pulled over at the first available turnout in order to explore
these new, strange surroundings. Having arrived in the early
morning hours gave us the opportunity to be there alone.
It was a remarkable moment of silence, much like it must have
been before the hand of modern man stamped itself upon this
land. No cars, no airplanes, no one talking. Instead, the only
sounds we heard were the wind and the constant but subtle
trickle of grains and pebbles sliding down the eroded slopes.
The process of erosion was continuing as it had for thousands
of years.

We continued along the park's loop road, pulling off at many of
the overviews. Proceeding at a leisurely pace, several cars
had arrived and moved on ahead of us and soon we came to a
mini traffic jam. A small group of bison was grazing nearby.
Now I was excited and couldn't wait to pull over and take a few
shots, but no amount of excitement could get me to approach
them. Bison bulls can weigh close to 2000 pounds, run at 35
miles per hour, and have a well-deserved reputation for being
ornery. This didn't deter others on the scene, several of whom
were out of their cars stalking the group with pocket cameras in
hand. Wondering if I was going to witness the Darwin principle
at work, I stayed by the car and relied on my zoom lens as the
best way to get close. Fortunately, a ranger came by and
herded the less intelligent of our species back to their cars.

The western end of the loop road nears the semi-ghost town of
Scenic at Route 33. Here you will find several abandoned
buildings, including an old church. This is private property but
no one cared that I photographed from the road. However, I
was careful not to wander off the street, and old abandoned
buildings can be dangerous irrespective of property rights.

We continued down Route 33 and onto the Lakota Sioux
reservation of Pine Ridge. Pine Ridge is famous for two
events, the massacre at Wounded Knee in December 1890,
and Wounded Knee II, a 1973 standoff between the FBI and a
group of AIM (American Indian Movement) members, including
Leonard Peltier who remains in prison today. You can read
one account of the original Wounded Knee massacre here.
An account of the 1973 standoff can be read here.

Today, the two counties that comprise Pine Ridge are the two
poorest counties in the United States. Approximately 30,000
people live on the 1.7 million acre reservation. The average
family income is $3,700, average life expectancy is 48 for men
and 52 for women, 8 of every 10 adults are unemployed and
an amazing 40% of homes are without electricity. The
alcoholism rate is the highest in the country. These read like
statistics from a 3rd world country.

So why go to Pine Ridge? Because Pine Ridge is at once
historical, disturbing and starkly beautiful. Worthless to the
United States Government, the reservation land that I saw was
sparse grasslands interspersed with badlands. Agriculture
seems out of the question, and even land satisfactory for
grazing cattle is difficult to find. Remote and lacking the
infrastructure to support tourism, it is not difficult to understand
the basis for the intense poverty. Stunning to look at, difficult
on which to live.

Yet the people here are tied to the land through the history of
their ancestors. The Wounded Knee site is sacred to them, as
should be any place where ones ancestors were massacred. It
is identified by a simple, solitary marker. If you visit there,
leave your camera in the car. It is a place for reflection and
introspection, not photographs.

So go to Pine Ridge. To see the beauty, to understand how
the people here have been treated by the government, and to
understand the problems they face today. If you find yourself
wanting to help, visit this site.

We retraced our route northward and rejoined the loop road
inside Badlands National Park. This time we headed east
along the southern boundary of "The Wall", which meant we
were on the lower plateau and looking up at the formations.
This was just what my (then) 13 year old son was looking for.
A chance, after all day in the car, to get out and climb!

Now there are a few things you need to know about the
badlands before letting your kids scramble around. One, the
soil is loose and crumbly. This makes it a lot easier to go up
than to come back down. Two, while there aren't many
precipitous drops, the hills are steep. Sliding down a slope
probably wouldn't kill you, but you'd be picking rocks out of
your skin for weeks. Three, there's no shade. Use good
judgement, and remember that it can be a fairly long drive to
get medical treatment.

Nevertheless, my son survived his scrambles and I had enough
photos of him on top of rocks to freak out mom when we got
home.

Photography in the badlands region poses some challenges.
Most of the exposed formations are light in color, and the
bright sunlight causes high contrast. Try to plan your
photography around the early morning and late day hours in
order reduce contrast and capture the warmer golden light.
Even then the areas of light and shadow may be beyond your
camera's ability to capture. In that case expose for the high-
lights and let the shadow areas go black.

One last suggestion -- come back to the park several hours
after the sun has set. Bring a blanket and sit on the ground
outside. You'll be treated to a view of the night sky like you
may never have seen before. A view the way it used to be,
before man made lights dimmed the skies.

Enjoy.