Rubber rabbitbrush must be an incredibly tough plant to survive this environment. It grows in the Little Missouri National Grasslands and Theodore Roosevelt National Park also. This time of year is brightened considerably by the appearance of its cheery yellow blossoms. I think it looks good when growing among silver sagebrush, and as you can see here, it complements mud and rocks rather nicely as well.

As I came over the top of this hill, I disturbed a cottontail who was completely flopped out for a rest. Judging from the smooth dirt around him, he probably uses this spot quite often for an afternoon siesta. He seemed a little surprised to have someone hiking through his domain. I went out of my way to give him some space, as I know how important naps can be!

At first glance, there doesn’t seem to be much to look at here, but the curves and the colors and occasional rock make this a very appealing scene to me. I doubt if many people realize that Bowman County has places like this. It seems more like Arizona, New Mexico, Utah or Nevada than the land of cattle and wheat.

For some people, this harsh landscape may seem a bit hellish, but for an artist and photographer, it is more like a piece of heaven, with visual delights everywhere one turns.

Well, that’s it for this excursion into the Mud Buttes of Bowman County. Just like these clouds, I had to move on. Someday I’ll return and find more ways to look at North Dakota mud, rocks, and rabbitbrush.

Photographing the rocks at Mud Buttes presents the same challenge as shooting in a wheat field: where to start, and what to leave out. There are so very many interesting rocks out there, and depending on the light and weather, you could make quite a few different studies of the same group. The sun was partly filtered by clouds for some of these images. I have also been out there at sunset when there are long shadows being cast, which adds another whole dimension to the scene.

Here are the remains of some small creature. There is something elegant, captivating, and mysterious about the skeleton of a once-living animal.

Adding to this composition were the tracks left from water after a rain. I slid around in a few shady areas where the gumbo was not quite dry, and know from experience that you do not want to be out here when it is really wet!

I marvel at the perfect beauty of these rock and flower arrangements. It would take a lot of knowledge and skill to make something look this effortless. I love the colors and patterns formed by the lichens on the rocks.

The Mud Buttes stand out in stark contrast with the neighboring grassland, full of native vegetation which is grazed by cattle. I think people in the earth sciences probably enjoy it out here as much as I do.

Walking out on these barren slopes of cracked earth truly does make you feel that you might be on another planet. It’s a little hard to traverse some of the hillsides, and it would certainly be a rough slide down if you lost your footing.

The colors of the mud have a subtle but fascinating range from gray and charcoal to shades of rose and violet. It’s almost like walking through a piece of art.

It is very refreshing to be out in such rugged, wild-looking country, even for part of a day. All of the more civilized things that go with town and farm life are easily forgotten when you’re immersed in a landscape that shows millions of years of age. I have some more photos from this excursion, which I will share in the next post.

As I mentioned earlier, last Friday I went over to the Mud Buttes south of Rhame for a photo excursion. These buttes are rather like a lunar landscape, strange but beautiful, and the history of the earth can be read in their banded layers.

A hike through the Mud Buttes is a very sensory experience. The gray gumbo is strewn with thousands of rocks from an ancient lake, and some of them bear the marks of reeds that once pressed against them.

Millions of years of natural history are visible out here, and it always gives me pause to try and wrap my mind around that. It’s a place that I regard with wonder for its great age, and deep admiration for its other-worldly beauty.

You can usually spot rabbits out in this wild country, both jackrabbits and cottontails. Don’t the colors of the rabbit and its background go very well together?

The cottontails will let you approach them, up to a point, possibly because there are so many holes and places for them to take cover.

The texture of the ground varies from smooth, dusty and sandlike to very crunchy, crumbly and dried mudlike. The colors range from almost white to deeper and deeper shades of gray, with some tans, browns, and purplish pinks thrown in.

Quite a few animals have had an excursion here also, judging from all the tracks left behind in the soft dirt.

There’s not much for vegetation out here, so it really stands out among the rocks and mud. The rubber rabbitbrush was adding some touches of golden yellow color here and there.

Hope you’ve enjoyed this glimpse of one of southwestern North Dakota’s most unusual landscapes. I have more images to share with you, but will have to post them in a day or two.