Saturday, December 28, 2019

Wet Badlands 2019

I don't know what we were thinking, but we stayed pretty busy after returning from the Mexico trip...maybe because Terry took the week off to recuperate after working for two solid weeks, maybe because we didn't know what to do with ourselves without our team, maybe because we were bored. Anyway, the day after we returned from our anniversary getaway, on Friday, June 21, we went to the Badlands. Apparently, we're starting to make it an annual thing (first time in 2016, 2017, and 2018).



Perhaps we should have paid closer attention to the weather since it was rainy when we first got there (see south of Wall). It was the wettest summer on record I believe...



Everyone was in shorts and the littles didn't grab their coats as I had instructed. That's why Ezra is wearing mine. We ate lunch in the van after arriving to wait out the weather. 



We stopped at the first northerly lookout and walked as far as we could to the north. 



End of the line. Samuel and Ezra in me and Terry's coats. 😂



Going back to that most elevated green hill to the left.



Roadside stop to say hello to some resting Bighorn sheep...lambs.



They were everywhere up north.



We walked on down the trail and then bushwhacked until the end of the cliff. 



Looking down from that cliff area to the road scenes below.



Everything was so incredibly lush due to the abundant rain. There was clover absolutely everywhere. All the fields looked yellow or lime. Of course later in the fall, in September, all the clover had died and turned brownish black!



Another roadside stop.



So beautiful!



We parked at just about every stop and hiked however far we could.



Here's the end of another line.



💚



Ezra's face and wiggly jacket arms. 😂



At this stop we ventured into muddy areas with less grass and all came away with at least an inch of it caked to our shoes.



Another end of the line.



Lots of family shots.



And more.



And another.



Hey there's me!



We decided to do the Notch Trail again (the one with the ladder). CLOVER!!



We abandoned the elevated trail and explored along the floor of the area. 



Evie managed to get over the mud puddle but the littles had to go a different way.



The highest point at the end of the trail.



Pretty girl.



Heading back. You can see the ladder in the distance.



Littlest first. 



One, two, three, four.



The littles climbed on whatever they could on the way back.



See what I mean about everything looking yellow? It was so beautiful.  



I took a couple short time lapse videos of our Notch hike.

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