Grasslands as far as the eye can see, little trees struggling to survive, beaten by the wind and grouped around an occasional water hole, that’s the landscape of Eastern South Dakota. One can imagine the herds of bisons that used to roam this land, before the white man arrived and changed everything.

The Badlands , Mako Sica (Lakota) Mauvaises Terres (french), appeared to me like a wound in the prairie. As you stand of the edge of the grass, the soil breaks sharply and uncovers a strange and fascinating scenery composed of mud mounds (actually crumbling rock) colored by the decomposing minerals and chemicals from the decaying plants that used to grow there, for at one time, this land was covered by a sea, then the water receded and a jungle took it’s place, then the jungle died and the Badlands were born.

Jagged edges, strange shapes and colors, all of which seems to change with the time of the day, as the winds and the rains continue to sculpt the land into an ever changing “moon like” landscape.

Animals do live here, prairie dogs are abundant, jackrabbits, coyotes, butterflies, turtles, vultures, snakes blue birds and bisons to name a few.

We left Mitchell on Monday and drove to Wall SD. On our way there we saw a lot of signs advertising a 1880 town. We debated whether to stop and go visit or just pass it by, we finally decided to stop, it was about lunch time, we were hungry and we thought we could park and have a sandwich then go check out the town.

We were a little wary, thinking maybe it was just a tourist trap of building replicas and movie props, but we were pleasantly surprised. The sign at the entrance reads “1880 Town, Dakota Territory, elevation 2391 feet, population: 170 Ghosts, 9 cats, 3 dogs and 3905 rabbits but what it does not say is that it contains a lot of Western heritage.

The town consist of 30 authentic buildings that have been transported to the site. In the barn we saw a nice collection of antiques; pianos from Deadwood, buggies, toys and on the second floor an impressive collection of movie memorabilia from “Dances with wolves”.

The first building is a museum, most of it dedicated to Casey Tibbs, 9 times Rodeo world champion and items from the Custer era.

About a quarter of a mile from town is a homestead complete with windmill, corrals, barn, house and of course, an outhouse.

St. Stephan’s Church, built in 1915 was moved from Dixon, SD, with everything intact, from the stained glass windows to the bell (which along with the school bell, we were free to ring)

Of course, there was a Saloon (they do not serve alcohol, only sodas and ice cream) A girl in costume of the period played piano.

Bear wanted to take a bath, I preferred going to the bank 🙂

There was only one thing that left me with mixed feelings, I got my first “Senior” discount at the 1880 Town, I wasn’t really sure if I should be happy or cry…. 🙁

The first Corn Palace was built in 1892.

Wax portrait doll of Mrs Bertha Honore Palmer made in France in the late 1800’s. Mrs Palmer was a well-known socialite in Chicago in the late 1800’s.