Lee and Karen Duquette,
The Two RV Gypsies: Full-Time RVers
at Badlands National Park
in South Dakota
September 2016

USA map showing location of South Dakota

Badlands National Park is 381 square miles or 244,000 acres. Wilderness area - 64,250 acres. The highest point in the park is 3,247 feet,located at the Pinnacles Entrance Station. The aUSA map showing location of Badlands NPverage annual precipitation is 16 inches. Badlands National Park is located in the White River Badlands and was called mako (mako, land and sica, bad) by the Sioux Indians. The term badlands generally refers to an area that is difficult to travel through primarily because of the rugged terrain and lack of water. The fascinating landscape within the park erodes at a rate of about 1 inch per year, providing an ever-changing landscape. Badlands was originally proclaimed a National Monument in 1939 and was later designated a National Park in 1978.

Karen Duquette at Badlands NP entrance sign sign about the Badlands Wall

The Door Trail is a 0.75 mile round trip, easy trail. A 1/4 mile boardwalk led Lee and Karen Duquette through a break in the Badlands Wall known as "the Door" and then they had a spectacular view of the Badlands. From there, they came to another boardwalk with stairs leading down to start of the Door Trail.

Below: Karen Duquette on the first boardwalk - 1/4 of a mile.
Karen Duquette on the boardwalk
panorama of the Badlands
the two RV Gypsies in the Badlands Badlands NP

Below: At the end of the boardwalk, there was a cliff area that Lee and Karen Duquette were able to walk out to and Karen got some very nice photos of the Badlands.
Badlands Badlands
Badlands

Below: Lee Duquette on the cliff overlook and Karen Duquette back on the boardwalk. They took a photo of each other.
Lee Duquette in the Badlands Karen Duquette on the Badlands Boardwalk
sign about the Door trail

Below: At the end of the first board walk, Lee and Karen Duquette came to another boardwalk. The Stairs down led to the beginning of the Door Trail.
Karen Duquette on the second boardwalk
Karen Duquette on the second boardwalk
sign: Anatomy of a Badland
two flowers in a ditch trail sign
sign about the Badlands trail Badlands scenery

Below: Looking back at the second boardwalk
looking back at the second boardwalk looking back at the second boardwalk
beautiful red mounds on the Door Trail beautiful red mounds on the Door Trail
Karen Duquette playing peek-a-boo with Lee Karen Duquette

Below: Notice a very tiny Lee Duquette in the first photo below. Since they were the only two people around, it was easy to explore the area. But they were also careful not to do or go anyplace dangerous, since no help was around.
Badlands scenery from the Door Trail Badlands scenery from the Door Trail
Badlands scenery from the Door Trail Badlands scenery from the Door Trail
Lee Duquette on the Door trail Badlands scenery from the Door Trail
Lee Duquette admiring the scenery Badlands scenery from the Door Trail
Badlands scenery from the Door Trail Badlands scenery from the Door Trail
two rocks blocking a big hole
Badlands scenery from the Door Trail Lee Duquette
part of the Door Trail Badlands scenery from the Door Trail

Below: Lee and Karen Duquette at the end of the maintained Door Trail. Visitors were advised to travel beyond that point at their own risk because of big drop-offs. So The two RV Gypsies stopped at the end of the maintained trail and then returned back to the boardwalks and parking lot and on to the Window Trail.
Karen Duquette at the end of the Door Trail Lee Duquette at the end of the Door Trail

look below

go to the next adventure of the two RV Gypsies Please continue on to page 2 of the Badlands - The Window Trail, Fossil exhibits and wildlife. Photos have been put on multiple pages to allow faster uploading and to enhance the viewers experience on this website.