Episode 8: Where Bad is Good

A man wearing a cowboy hat rides on horseback in the foreground while look out at the South Dakota Badlands in the distance. Badlands National Park, South Dakota.
A man wearing a cowboy hat rides on horseback in the foreground while look out at the South Dakota Badlands in the distance. Badlands National Park, South Dakota.
Episode 8:

Where Bad is Good

The Lakota people call it Mako Sica — “bad lands.” With its sharply eroded buttes, pinnacles and spires, it’s easy to see why. But just how "bad" is Badlands National Park? Join us as we venture into this legendary land of stone and light to unearth its many wonders, past and present.

 

With a name like “Badlands,” you might think that Badlands National Park is a desolate and forbidding landscape. But as we discover in this episode, the Badlands are as ecologically and geologically rich as they are eerily beautiful. Join host Brian Thacker as he hikes through a colorful tapestry in search of the park's prehistoric past. Along the way, he becomes an unwelcome visitor in a prairie-dog town and goes horseback riding under the shadows of rocky buttes straight out of a Western movie. 

You’ll hear from:

available on Spotify, Apple and Amazon
 
The first fossil was described here in 1846, the giant jawbone of an animal called a brontothere. To put that into context, [the word] 'dinosaur' was invented in 1842 ... So we can point to this area and say, this is where paleontology begins in the American West.
Ed Welsh, Education Specialist, Badlands National Park
Featured Locations
SUV driving along the Badlands Scenic Loop.
Badlands National Park

The Badlands became a national park in 1978, but their story spans millions of years. Fossils of rhinos, camels and saber-toothed cats lie within the park's unique formations. Hike its trails, drive the Badlands Loop Scenic Byway and camp under some of the planet’s starriest skies.

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A group of people ride on horseback in Badlands National Park, South Dakota.
Hurley Butte Horseback

This working ranch near Interior offers guided horseback rides through the prairie of Badlands National Park. New to horseback riding? Beginners can practice in the corral before hitting the trail. Saddle up and play cowboy for a day on one of the most unforgettable ways to experience the Badlands!

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A man wearing a cowboy hat rides on horseback in the foreground while look out at the South Dakota Badlands in the distance. Badlands National Park, South Dakota.

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Experience the

Badlands Astronomy Festival

Stars and Milky Way Badlands National Park South Dakota

This summer event gathers amateur astronomers, scientists and park visitors under the pitch-black skies of Badlands National Park. Enjoy nightly telescope viewings, evening presentations by special guests and a range of family-friendly activities. You truly haven't seen the Badlands until you've seen them at night!

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Episode 8: Where Bad is Good

With a name like “Badlands,” you might think that Badlands National Park is a desolate...

Episode 4: The Land of the Giants

Two mammoth skeletons with long, curving tusks are displayed at The Mammoth Site in Hot Springs, South Dakota.
Two mammoth skeletons with long, curving tusks are displayed at The Mammoth Site in Hot Springs, South Dakota.
Episode 4:

The Land of the Giants

Some of the world’s most important dinosaur fossils have been discovered in South Dakota, including Sue, the most complete T. rex ever found. But here, history isn’t just something you see in a museum; you can dig for it yourself! Join us for an adventure millions of years in the making.

 

In this episode, host Brian Thacker ventures into the northern Black Hills to dig for 67-million-year-old T. rex teeth with PaleoAdventures. Next, he heads to The Mammoth Site in Hot Springs to meet one of South Dakota’s wildest and woolliest former residents. We join the dig, work on mammoth bones in the fossil preparation lab and find a whole lot of mammoth dung in the archives.

You'll hear from:

  • Walter Stein and Ethan Turpin from PaleoAdventures
  • Dr. Chris Jass, Kelly Lubbers and Alex Gardner from The Mammoth Site
available on Spotify, Apple and Amazon
 
When you find something … it's the first time sunlight has hit it in 66 million years. You’re the first human being to lay eyes on it. It's kind of a humbling experience, that sense of discovery, the feeling you get from it. That’s the buzz, and that’s why you do it.
Walter Stein, PaleoAdventures
Featured Locations
People look at two giant mammoth skeletons in Hot Springs
The Mammoth Site

In 1974, a mass graveyard of mammoths was uncovered just down the road from Custer State Park. Today, it’s a museum built over an active dig site where more than 60 mammoths have been discovered ... so far. Watch scientists at work and come face to face with some of the most massive skeletons on the planet.

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PaleoAdventures, Belle Fourche
PaleoAdventures

Ever dream of joining a real-life dinosaur dig? PaleoAdventures can help make that dream a reality. With the guidance of veteran paleontologists, you'll get the training to unearth ancient fossils in one of the most active dig areas in the world. If you're lucky, you might even make a valuable discovery!

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A man wearing a cowboy hat rides on horseback in the foreground while look out at the South Dakota Badlands in the distance. Badlands National Park, South Dakota.

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Episode 4: The Land of the Giants

In this episode, host Brian Thacker ventures into the northern Black Hills to dig for...

Episode 7: Marching Back in Time

Cavalry reenactors on horseback ride toward the camera with historic buildings in the background at the Fort Sisseton Historical Festival. Fort Sisseton Historic State Park, South Dakota.
Cavalry reenactors on horseback ride toward the camera with historic buildings in the background at the Fort Sisseton Historical Festival. Fort Sisseton Historic State Park, South Dakota.
Episode 7:

Marching Back in Time

The thunder of musket fire. The lilt of a fiddle. The rattle of a drum. The crackle of a campfire. These are the sounds you’ll hear at the annual Fort Sisseton Historical Festival, a one-of-a-kind celebration of 19th-century military life on the frontier. But we’re not just here to watch. We’re in it!

 

Join us as we march back in time to 1864 at Fort Sisseton Historic State Park, where a loyal group of cavalry, artillery and infantry reenactors come together and bring the camp to life for one weekend every year. Listen as we take part in marching drills (and then perform them in front of a big crowd), join some old-timers from the cavalry regiment for tales around a blazing fire, sleep in the haunted military hospital and step on a few toes at the Military Ball.

You’ll hear from:

  • Ali Tonsfeldt of Fort Sisseton Historic State Park
  • Captain Bruce Bekkering and Amy from the Cavalry troop
  • Captain Kevin Ganz and the rest of the 13th Sioux Falls regiment
available on Spotify, Apple and Amazon
 
This is our second home. My kids were raised here. We’ve got people that you see every year, so it’s more than a destination — it’s family. For city folks, it’s the only time they can ride in a wagon drawn by horses, and it’s free. You can’t find that anywhere else.
Charles Russell, festival attendee
Featured Location
Fort Sisseton Historic State Park

Fort Sisseton was one of several forts in eastern Dakota Territory built to support frontier expansion during the 1860s. Today, you can visit 14 original buildings — including officers' quarters, barracks and a powder magazine — and participate in ranger-led programs that explore this unique chapter of American history.

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Ingalls Homestead, De Smet

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Experience the Annual

Fort Sisseton Historical Festival

Fort Sisseton cannon

Each spring, Fort Sisseton Historic State Park comes alive with military demonstrations, period-accurate food and music, dancing and more. Relive the fort’s heyday for a weekend filled with history, revelry and camaraderie.

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Episode 7: Marching Back in Time

Join us as we march back in time to 1864 at Fort Sisseton Historic State...

Episode 6: Little Town on the Prairie

Ingalls Homestead, De Smet
Two young children wearing late 19th-century pioneer dress run in a field of tall grass with a historic church in the background. De Smet, South Dakota.
Episode 6:

Little Town on the Prairie

In the small town of De Smet, the pioneer spirit is just as alive as it was when Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the "Little House on the Prairie" series, was growing up there. Hear the squeak of wagon wheels and the rustle of prairie grass as we visit the places that shaped Laura’s beloved books.

 

This episode follows the Ingalls family's journey from a dirt dugout in Minnesota to their adopted hometown of De Smet, where the landscapes are still as “free and big and splendid” as Laura described them. Join us as we roll across the prairie in a horse-drawn cart to the Ingalls Homestead, take part in a spelling bee at the 1889 Little Prairie School, drop into rehearsals for the annual Laura Ingalls Wilder Pageant and uncover treasures in the archive room at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society Museum.

You’ll hear from:

  • Ann Lesch, Ingalls Homestead
  • Christie Hubbard, Laura Ingalls Wilder Pageant Society
  • Mary Jo Wirtz, Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society Museum

Available on Spotify, Apple and Amazon

 
For some people, this is something they’ve wanted to visit their whole lives. People cry sometimes. It’s very emotional and moving for people in a lot of ways. I think when people come here to visit, and they’ve come from such a distance, they can still see the landscape. It’s like she described. It’s changed — we have farms and homes and communities — but it still feels like the descriptions in her books, so it means a lot to people.
Ann Lesch, Operations Manager, Ingalls Homestead
Featured Locations
The sun sets over a historic homestead once owned by the Ingalls family in De Smet, South Dakota.
Ingalls Homestead

The Ingalls family set up their homestead on this quarter-section of land in 1880, and little has changed since Laura’s childhood here. Take part in wagon rides, demonstrations and hands-on activities that shed light on pioneer life, including hay twisting and wheat grinding. Camping is available in the bunkhouse, covered wagons and at the homestead's RV and tent sites.

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Interior of historic Ingalls homes
Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Homes

This site in downtown De Smet features two Ingalls family residences: the Surveyors’ House and the Original Ingalls Home, built by Charles "Pa" Ingalls in 1887–1889. Laura and her sister Carrie attended the 1889 First School of De Smet. Guides in period dress lead tours of these buildings, offering a glimpse into the family’s life.

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Ingalls Homestead, De Smet

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Experience the Annual

Laura Ingalls Wilder Pageant

Performers in the Laura Ingalls Wilder pageant

Held over three weekends in July, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Pageant has brought Laura’s written works to life every summer since 1971. These family-friendly dramas change yearly, but they're always performed on an outdoor stage overlooking cottonwood trees planted by Pa Ingalls himself.

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Episode 6: Little Town on the Prairie

This episode follows the Ingalls family's journey from a dirt dugout in Minnesota to their...

Episode 5: The Greatest Show in the West

a cowboy rides on horseback at a rodeo in South Dakota.
Dust flies as a cowboy rides a horse at a rodeo in South Dakota.
Episode 5:

The Greatest Show in the West

Every January, one of America’s largest winter rodeos draws 300,000 visitors to Rapid City to cheer on some of the top cowboys in the world. Hear hooves pound the dirt and crowds roar as you get an up-close look at the skill, tradition and daring on display in South Dakota's official state sport. 

 

You’re in for a wild ride at the Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo! Host Brian Thacker takes us inside the arena, meeting father and son riders at the ranch rodeo, cheering on Gill the border collie at the sheepdog trials, taking part in a bachelor cattle auction and watching 7-year-old Kreed hang on to a sheep for dear life in the mutton-bustin’ competition. Yeehaw!

You’ll hear from:

  • John Kaiser, general manager of the Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo
  • Sheepdog handler and dog lover Linda Loulias
  • Sheep shearer Mike Por and Loren Opstedahl
  • Kreed, our fearless mutton buster
  • The boys from Lakota Funds and the Corn Creek Bandits
available on Spotify, Apple and Amazon
 
It's our state sport, it really encompasses the Western heritage we try to hold onto in South Dakota, and we take a lot of pride in that.
John Kaiser, General Manager, Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo
A man wearing a cowboy hat rides on horseback in the foreground while look out at the South Dakota Badlands in the distance. Badlands National Park, South Dakota.

Check out the trailer now!

Experience the

Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo

Black Hills Stock Show

A tradition since 1959, the Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo is the region's largest trade show, livestock sale and competition, with more than 300 vendors and 120 events. It's also been named the top indoor rodeo in the country five times by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). Plan your visit in late January to see "the greatest show in the West" for yourself!

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#HiFromSD

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Episode 5: The Greatest Show in the West

You’re in for a wild ride at the Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo! Host...

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