Badlands

Once in a while the prairie opens up beneath us to reveal this:

They are called 'badlands'. Horse thieves and other characters used to hide in them in the pioneering days. They are caused by water and river erosion and are below the level of the surrounding prairie so you don't now they are there until you arrive at the edge. I guess they are a bit like mini-Grand Canyons.

These strange formations are called 'hoo doos'. They are caused by erosion. But the First Nations people believed them to be petrified giants who came to life at night and threw rocks.

 

These were a welcome break from the monotonous driving. The occasional slight corner in the road was oddly exciting, as were the occasional tree and farm buildings. We did see pronghorn antelopes and elk, two of which popped effortlessly over four foot high barbed wire fences. And this eagle waiting for his lunch.