God’s Cathedral

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My mother’s favorite national treasure to visit was Badlands National Park. Every time we went west, we had to go through the Badlands. That was the least we could do for her. She’s the one who had to get everything ready and packed for the trip. She was the one who got stuck keeping kids or grandkids that weren’t big enough to go camping or backpacking in the mountains. She was even compliant with camping along the way from time to time. It may have saved them a few dollars, but it was a lot of extra work for her. So when we neared the Badlands, it was a given that we would go through.

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The Badlands National Park consists of 244,000 acres. Formations of various sizes and shapes emerge from the eroded hills. The roads lead through grassy plains and then the earth opens up as canyons begin to take shape. Pinnacles and buttes rise from the earth that seem to have been swallowed by time, water and wind. Nothing can be seen for miles except flat land and ridges of layers of various colors of the strata of rough barren hills. The Lakota Indians called this place “Mako Sica,” which means “land bad.” Bison, big horn sheep, prairie dogs, deer, antelope and coyotes roam the land. 

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Mama always marveled verbally about the colors of the hills. She would explain that the hills change intensity of colors from one year to the next. Some years, the colors were muted. Other years, the colors were bright and intense. Looking across the quiet sacred hills, Mama would say, “This has to be God’s Cathedral.” 

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