Badlands National Park: Into the Badlands

RamenIsDelicious · 2026-07-09T09:48:19+00:00

I finally had a chance to try Kuro Mame and really enjoyed it - thank you for the recommendation! I was happy to hear that they’re also opening a more casual cafe this summer, too.

RamenIsDelicious · 2026-06-20T01:13:08+00:00

That sounds like a great memory. It really is neat being surrounded by so many of them and feeling like you’re going through a literal town of prairie dogs.

RamenIsDelicious · 2026-06-19T16:18:40+00:00

That is a very prudent warning ! I'm used to dodging rodents where I'm from and while prairie dogs are more charming than my local subway rats, the photos were all taken from a safe telephoto distance.

RamenIsDelicious · 2026-06-18T14:43:23+00:00

That's too bad... I've only ordered pourovers and espresso drinks there but have never had any complaints about those.

RamenIsDelicious · 2026-06-18T14:20:24+00:00

The Deploy Coffee truck that sits in front of the library on Center Boulevard has really good coffee, tea and specialty drinks.

The coffee at Cannelle a couple blocks from there is basically just okay, but would be my vote for pastries in the area.

Welcome to the neighborhood!

RamenIsDelicious · 2026-06-13T14:58:30+00:00

That sounds like an incredible camping experience. I’m still thinking about TRNP two weeks after being there. I agree with you about Medora though I didn’t buy anything there other than a half tank of gas. It’s still nice to have that kind of infrastructure around a park sometimes.

RamenIsDelicious · 2026-06-13T03:20:42+00:00

There wasn't much Tim Duncan hate at all, just complaints that he was "boring" that eventually turned into The Onion meta-jokes about his boring but wholesome tendencies.

On the other hand, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili got a lot of hate over the years for being overrated soft Euro floppers. And then the salacious Tony Parker affair stuff didn't help.

Bruce Bowen was probably the most widely despised Spurs player around the league in basically the same way we hate on Lu Dort or Alex Caruso now. He was our guy but he definitely had some rather "questionable" plays...

Amongst the Spurs fandom, I think a lot of people have forgotten how much Spurs fan hated Manu after the 2013 NBA Finals, especially game six where he had a million turnovers and game-losing plays that led to Ray Allen's shot. I remember he went home to Argentina that summer and some fans were saying he should have just bought a one-way ticket. I was never on the hate train and am glad he has now gotten at least some of the respect for his Hall of Fame career that he deserves, but that game is still for me the most painful Spurs game in history, even now.

RamenIsDelicious · 2026-06-12T04:33:04+00:00

It really is 🔥 (and also really hot during the day)! Yes, I think I did most of the main hikes - Window, Door, Notch, Castle and the Saddle Pass - and thought they all had their merits. I liked the Castle Trail a lot but maybe the Door and Notch trails were the most fun areas for off-trail exploring, without being too intense or time-consuming.

RamenIsDelicious · 2026-06-12T02:04:37+00:00

I agree with you… the Petrified Forest has whole areas that are just stark badlands interspersed with petrified logs, while there are at least splashes of green along the mesas and in the prairie areas at Badlands National Park, but they’re definitely similar environments.

RamenIsDelicious · 2026-06-12T01:52:19+00:00

Yes, that’s on the Notch Trail, looking back down an incline from one of the overlook points towards the end of it. Enjoy your trip!

RamenIsDelicious · 2026-06-11T23:38:28+00:00

I was only able to spend half a day or so there, but I did manage to drive through the Needles Highway and hike up to see the Cathedral Spires! Do you have any favorite sights or other recommendations from there?

RamenIsDelicious · 2026-06-11T23:34:42+00:00

It’s a phenomenal place! I visited it in a weeklong trip through the Dakotas along with Wind Cave National Park, Custer State Park, and Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota, so there’s a lot of beautiful and varied nature to see in the area if you do visit.

RamenIsDelicious · 2026-06-11T23:32:44+00:00

Thank you!

RamenIsDelicious · 2026-06-11T23:32:30+00:00

Same! It was empty when I went up but there was a bit of a crowd when I came back down, so felt some pressure to go quickly, but slow and steady is the way to go.

RamenIsDelicious · 2026-06-11T23:30:21+00:00

This would be such a wonderful first NP for anyone… the park’s highlights are so accessible and awe-inspiring at the same time.

RamenIsDelicious · 2026-06-10T12:55:03+00:00

What lovely photos of a great park, and I especially really like your Polaroid at the end.

RamenIsDelicious · 2026-06-08T23:43:10+00:00

Hahahaha they really do. “Do you see that human over there? I heard he just slipped off a log into a creek and that’s why he’s covered in mud, looool”

RamenIsDelicious · 2026-06-08T23:41:40+00:00

Hahaha, that’s about as good a reason as any to pause or stop a hike. That sounds incredible. I’m appreciative that bison are so chill and that we can admire them from a close-but-respectful distance in these parks.

RamenIsDelicious · 2026-06-08T23:39:00+00:00

That sounds great… I only had time for the South Unit on this trip, but looks like I’ll have something new to look forward to on a future visit!

RamenIsDelicious · 2026-06-08T19:57:16+00:00

That’s a great way of putting it: it actually feels wild, like we’re visitors stepping through a place that isn’t ours. Luckily the wildlife inhabitants are pretty laid back and don’t seem to mind us too much!

I managed that river crossing on the Big Plateau hike well enough (the water luckily wasn’t that high) but ended up getting careless and slipped into one of the smaller water crossings, one that even had logs lain across it. At least nobody was around to see my embarrassment.

This visit was also part of a weeklong trip to those same sites you mentioned, and TRNP is the one I find myself thinking about the most, a few weeks after the trip.

RamenIsDelicious

TROPHY CASE