South Dakota - The Badlands

After a wonderful few days in Minneapolis for our son's graduation, the three of us took off for a week-long vacation to South Dakota. We rented a car and headed West. With so much flat open land, this wind farm seemed to fit right in with  the landscape. I wonder if the locals feel the same way.

Chamberlain Bridge

Our goal was to get as close to the Badlands as possible the first day without driving at night. We set Chamberlain as our goal which is located on the east side of the Missouri River. We arrived just in time to catch the sunset.


Chamberlain has a nice walking path along the river which I took the following morning.

Chamberlain Walking Path

At one end of the path is a bridge and marina. Underneath the bridge were hundreds of cliff swallows darting under and over. It was very difficult to catch this on the camera.

I tried to capture the Cliff Swallows in this photo.

We left early the next morning, but not before we checked out an antique store and chatted with the owner - a retired biologist who spent many years working on reservation lands. He had numerous wildlife and nature books for sale. I bought Wildlife in Danger, Fisher, Simon and Vincent Published in 1969 the book has some beautiful illustrations.




 Suddenly, after driving a less than two hours later, the landscape changed drastically. As we caught our first glimpse of the Badlands it felt that we truly had arrived out West.

The Badlands of South Dakota

Mako Sica, meaning "land bad" is how the Lakota people referred to this region. As park visitors one could only imagine how it felt hundreds of years ago to travel by foot or on horseback through this region. We stayed right in the park in a cottage at Cedar Pass Lodge. This is in a great location with  the National Park Service's Visitor Information Center and a restaurant both within walking distance.

Cedar Pass Lodge cabins

Cedar Pass Lodge restaurant and gift shop

Although the land can seem pretty inhospitable...

Dry cracked soil

Cacti

the Badlands are, in reality, full of life. Being May, there were spring wildflowers in all shapes and sizes. Here are some photos.

We also saw a variety of birds. The first bird that was most noticeable was the Western Meadowlark. Not because we saw them, but because we constantly heard their melodic song. Sometimes it sounded like they were right next to us, yet we still couldn't see them. Finally, in the early evening, I caught this one with my binoculars.

As abundant as they were, the Western Meadowlark was quite difficult to actually see

Although the Western Meadowlark is common, the Eastern Meadowlark populations have dropped by more than seventy percent, primarily due to habitat loss. Efforts to protect and restore grasslands in the East are beginning to having a positive impact on the Eastern Meadowlark and other grassland bird populations.

A lot of the birds I saw were similar to those found in New England, but just the "western" variety. This was my first time seeing a Western Kingbird.

Western Kingbird

As interesting as the flowers and birds were, spotting animals in the Badlands was the most exciting.

Rabbits were not afraid to come right up to our deck

There are plenty of opportunities to see prairie dogs in the Badlands. A sign as you enter the park warns that the have the plague, yes the bubonic plague. The attendant said that it has not seemed to have an impact on their populations. This has not been the case in other states, were populations have been drastically reduced.

Prairie dogs are social animals and live in groups, commonly referred to as "towns"

In the evening we drove half of the Badlands Loop road and spotted a bighorn sheep climbing on top of a mountain.

Looking up on a sharp bend in the road, we saw this beautiful sight of a Bighorn sheep crossing the ridge.

The next morning, there were several lounging on a butte.

On Tuesday,  after making the obligatory stop at Wall Drug, we re-entered the park at the Pinnacles Entrance and drove west. This is where the majority of the buffalo reside and we were not disappointed. It was a great way to end our visit to the Badlands.

Grillable Brown Rice and Black Bean Burgers

I apologize to my readers that it has been three weeks since my last post. Th reason being that we just returned from attending our son's college graduation in Minneapolis and then an eight day vacation in South Dakota. I promise to cover our trip in the near future; but in the mean-time, enjoy these black bean burgers. The sweet potato keeps them together, which allows them to be either pan fried or grilled. Leftovers can be easily frozen and warmed up later.

Ingredients for 5-6 burgers:

• 1 can black beans, rinsed and well drained
• 1 cup cooked brown rice
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup walnuts ground in food processor
• 3/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp chili powder 
• 1 teaspoon raw sugar
• 1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
• salt and pepper (to taste)
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce or sweet barbecue sauce

Mix all ingredients well, form into patties and cook about 3-4 minutes on each side. 

Season for Dandelions

Before the grass begins to grow and fill in the bare spots in the lawn, the dandelions emerge. And, once you spot the first yellow blossom, there most likely are dozens, or even hundreds more. You either love them or hate them, but this early season weed has a lot to offer. Saturday morning I grabbed a shovel and begin scouring the yard for the distinct saw toothed leaves which are tasty in salads when young. I know that no matter how many dandelions I pull up, there will still be plenty left for the bees and wasps which also emerge this time of year looking for a first meal.

Dandelions help sustain pollinators in the spring before other blossoms come out.

Typically I make use of the young greens in salads. If I have a lot, I will steam them like spinach. This year, I decided to try and use of the roots as well so it was particularly satisfying when I was able to pull out the long tap root.  This spring has been quite dry, which made the dandelions particularly difficult to pull out of the ground with the root intact.

Tap roots provide benefits by loosening the soil and they aid in the fertilization of other plants by pulling nutrients up that lay deep in the soil.  I was looking forward to roasting the roots and making a dandelion smoothie. After about a half hour of scavenging I had collected a large bucket of plants. When all was said and done, I ended up with about a handful of chopped roots and a couple cups of nutritious greens.

Dandelion root (left) and rinsed greens (right)

To roast the root, I scrubbed them well, then chopped into two inch pieces. I placed them on a cookie sheet and baked in an oven set at 200 degrees for three hours, checking and turning every hour. Once they were completely dried, I cooled and them then ground to a fine powder in an electric spice grinder. It made about three tablespoons.

Add a little bit to your favorite smoothie for a coffee-like flavor and extra health benefits such as anti-oxidant properties and protecting your liver. I added it to the recipe below from Care2. 

Dandelion Almond Smoothie

Ingredients:
1 cup almond milk
1/4 cup cashews ground
1 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon roasted dandelion root
3 ice cubes
Add all to a blender and serve.