At the close of National Park Week, we arrive at Badlands in South Dakota. Our photo today shows a view from Castle Trail—at 10 miles round trip, it’s the longest marked hike in the park. Spring rain has revived the grasses across the prairie as the sun illuminates the pinnacle rock formations in the distance. Soon, grazing animals such as bison and pronghorn will begin feasting on the fresh crop of grasses. This is also a good time of year to spot some of the dozens of different butterfly species that live in the park and provide a delicate contrast to the park’s rugged landscape.
A good time in the Badlands
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
-
A bridge too Fawr
-
Celebrating Madagascar on its Independence Day
-
Anybody out there?
-
Happy Independence Day!
-
Surf s up—Down Under
-
Caribou on the move
-
Bioluminescence at Trwyn Du Lighthouse in Wales
-
Whooper swans in Lake Kussharo, Japan
-
Big sky at Big Bend
-
Edinburgh Art Festival
-
Mother s Day
-
St. Patricks Day
-
A tree amid the Tetons
-
Spot on for International Cat Day
-
Do spirits haunt the Gardens of Versailles?
-
Prague, Czech Republic
-
Mediterranean red sea stars
-
Gazing down on planet Earth
-
Río Negro, Amazon basin, Brazil
-
Spring blooms in the Netherlands
-
Kochelsee in Bavaria
-
In the Supertree Grove
-
Atlanta Botanical Garden
-
Traffic jam on the caribou highway
-
Nursing the world to health
-
Summer solstice
-
Fat Bear Week
-
A storied trail marks a century
-
Le Beaujolais nouveau est arrivé!
-
Acadia transformed