this park (bad lands national park) was awesome it was worth the twelve hour drive through the dakotas.  the land was settled by europeans who eventually made starvation claims and had to leave their homesteads for more promising lives.  again deadwood and all the real cowboy shit that kids dream of went down here.  being smack in the middle of the continent and as harsh a climate as it is, there was amazing amounts of plant and wildlife.
top) these guys were maybe my biggest surprise that i came across in the badlands.  wild turkeys.  typically i am used to brown turkeys with rounder bodies, and less color in the head.  these were turkeys, just a little leaner darker, and bright, bright red heads on the the males.  there was also a greasy shine to some of their feathers.  i was not expecting to walk over a hill and spot these.