A Visit To This Wyoming Scenic Overlook Is Like Visiting Another Planet
Wyoming has it all – populated cities, Alpine meadows, Aspen and pine-filled forests, and plenty of wide-open spaces. Touring the Cowboy State is like visiting another world, especially if you travel through certain areas.
Take the Gooseberry Badlands, for example. Once a tropical environment, time and erosion has turned the area into a stark but beautiful land. Scanning the horizon from the scenic overlook, you’d swear you’d been transported to an entirely different planet.
Sometimes referred to as the Painted Desert, the Gooseberry Badlands in Wyoming are a spectacular natural work of art.
It's also a terrific place to learn interesting things about the area, like the fact that fossils found in the badlands reveal that it used to be a lush, tropical climate.
The badlands were practically a Garden of Eden that was home to a variety of mammals including carnivores, primates, and hoofed animals that are thought to be the ancestors of the pronghorn antelope and mule deer that live in the badlands today.
After millions of years of environmental evolution, the land is more like a desert, though it still supports animal life. These days, however, there are fewer species.
Animals living in the Gooseberry Badlands today include an assortment of rodents such as chipmunks, rabbits, kangaroo rats, and mice. Other species live in the area, too, such as rattlesnakes, foxes, bobcats, coyotes, and birds of prey.
The rock formations in the Gooseberry Badlands are fascinating. Some appear to be giant petrified mushrooms and others look as if they're the ruins of human-built structures. The amazing thing is that it's all constructed by nature.
One really amazing feature of the Gooseberry Badlands is that the vibrant colors of the soil change from season to season, kind of like the way the foliage turns colors in other areas of the state. That means you'll be treated to a gorgeous new view every time you visit.
