A Pot of Gold On Top of the Badlands

As if the Badlands in South Dakota aren’t breathtaking enough, a rainbow highlights what’s on top: a tidy color display that alternates from dark black-and-blue coal stria to bright clays to reds. The South Dakota Badlands are certainly not the only ones of their kind in the world: find them in Nebraska, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Alberta, Argentina, Spain, New Zealand and elsewhere. But the Badlands of South Dakota have drawn me in nearly every decade of my life, and rewarded me for my loyalty on my last visit with a spectacular rainbow that got right to the point. ♣

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