A few years ago, we were on a streak of being away on vacation for Peanut’s birthday (which is the third week in August). Partly this was because I like to push our family summer travel as late as I can – anticipation is more fun than the post-vacation comedown – and partly it was because she got attached to the idea of a trip “for her birthday.” But in the past couple of years, the kids have been starting school on her birthday week, so the Peanut party has shifted to home base, and we’ve been traveling a week or so earlier. The fun bonus to this is – we’ve been able to be on vacation for our wedding anniversary a few times now. When we planned our summer 2022 travel, we aimed for that week as both the last possible travel week before school and anniversary week. And I knew I wanted to plan something extra special for our actual anniversary.

From everything I’d read, Badlands National Park seemed like just the extra special adventure I had in mind. The park is described as otherworldly, like nothing else, totally unique – sounds right to me.

Our first stop – after the obligatory run into the visitors’ center to hit the potty and pick up Junior Ranger booklets – was the Door and Window Trails. These are two separate trails located next to one another and accessible from the same parking lot. The Window Trail is very short – really just a quick jaunt to an overlook (where a kind stranger offered to take a family picture for us, and did such a nice job that the picture became our Christmas card image for 2022). But the Door Trail extends about a mile or so, via a few interspersed yellow posts (it’s not really a trail…) directly into the desert.

I couldn’t get enough of the colors. It was very hot out – even with a little bit of cloud cover giving some relief – and the contrasts between the orange and taupe of the badlands and the bright blue sky were just spectacular.

Almost immediately, we spotted a bighorn sheep atop a distant butte, and then – just a bit further off in the distance – a second one. Sadly, I didn’t have my zoom lens with me! Bighorn sheep are always exciting.

The kids had fun climbing rocks and scrambling up and down the little embankments – this was a fun trail for them. You do have to have your wits about you – it’s easy to get lost in the unfamiliar landscape, since there isn’t really a clearly marked trail – but if you’ve got parents paying close attention, the Door Trail is a great choice for a family.

From the Door, we headed over to the Window and snagged that family photo, along with a few more snaps of the Martian-looking landscape – too cool. And then it was back to the (air conditioned!) car to cruise along to our next hike.

Check in with me next week for the final Dakotas post! And then it will be off to somewhere COMPLETELY different – travel posts continue!