The badlands in both western ND and SD are made up primarily of volcanic ash. They weather to highly expanding and water-absorbing gumbo clay, so when they get heavy rain, not much moves. As the storm system approached, a rancher who lived nearby (near in western ND terms--about 10 miles from the dig), came by and implored us not to drive on the road until it was dry, as the ruts cut by those driving too soon could only be repaired by grading the whole length of the road. He made it clear that he, other ranchers, and the Slope County Roads supervisor would be highly annoyed if we cut their roads up.
