On our last morning in North Dakota, we woke up to bright blue skies and warm sunshine. It was a shame to leave, even to head for more fun in South Dakota. With a long drive ahead of us, we started looking around for ways to break up the time on the road, and decided one more hike in TRNP was in order. Although technically in the South Unit of the park, the Painted Canyon Visitors’ Center – and hiking trail – are about 45 minutes or so south of the rest of the park, so right on the way to the next leg of our trip. It was meant to be.

The trail starts on a bluff right next to the visitors’ center and starts to descend right away into the canyon.

Soon we were walking over gravelly sand and past striated buttes. The gorgeous tans, ochres and greens of the North Dakota badlands were all around.

(One of us leaned into the cowboy culture extra hard while in North Dakota. Three guesses who.)

Before we knew it, we had reached the valley floor and the badlands were rising all around us. The good news is: the scenery was spectacular – this was one of the most beautiful hikes we did all week. The bad news is: what goes down must go… up.

But before we faced that hot, steep climb, we had plenty of scenery to enjoy. I was still staggered at how beautiful the North Dakota badlands were. This trip was a little bit spur-of-the-moment and, to be honest, I hadn’t thought much about the scenery we’d be enjoying – I was more focused on finding lodging and figuring out which trails were likely to be the right difficulty level for the kids. This beauty was, although not unexpected if I’d been thinking about it, just a wonderful treat.

More prickly pear!

Always on the lookout for exciting wildlife, as we hiked along, I spotted a pair of fuzzy brown ears in the grass. We all stopped to stare (quietly).

Too cute! Eventually something startled him (it wasn’t us, I swear we couldn’t have been quieter) and he hopped away.

Fortified by an adorable bunny, we faced the climb out of the valley with as much good grace as possible. I tucked my phone back in my hiking pants and focused on trucking up the steep section of the trail and we eventually arrived at the top – sooner than expected, actually – red-faced, sweating and huffing, but very happy.

I mean, how could you be anything but happy with a view like that to look at?

Next week: we’re on to our next stop – South Dakota! Lots of adventure in store, so check in: same time, same place.