Shot by an unknown American tourist, this 1940s home movie takes viewers on a picturesque tour through Badlands National Park in South Dakota. This area is characterized by layered rock formations, steep canyons and towering spires. The film opens with lines of poetry about the area (:11). A group of women prepare for a road trip to the Badlands, loading up their black Ford Eiffel (:20). Rock formations appear in Badlands (:46). A local Native American is pictured with a teepee behind him (:49). A close shot highlights his feathered headdress (1:20). Rock formations are zoomed in on displaying their layers of colors (1:13). A highway runs through the jagged rock formations (1:29). Sunflowers blossom against the side of the road (1:58). Desert lands and rolling hills pass by the camera (2:22). Black hills line the sky (2:40). Camera angles shows various shots of the stone faces of Mt. Rushmore (3:13). The traveler’s car moves over Iron Mountain Highway (4:17). The road moves through The Pig Tails (5:03). Donkey graze by the side of the road (5:08). The travelers make a pit stop at State Game Lodge (5:38). A close shot shows the guests on the stone patio (5:45). Massive rock formations and skinny trees line Sylvan Lake (5:58). Needles Eye Tunnel is a narrow tunnel situated on Needles Highway (7:08). A butterfly flaps its wings on purple blossoms (7:19). Crazy Horse Memorial (7:25) appears before two tepees. Dinosaur Park was dedicated in 1936 in order to draw tourists in to visit Mount Rushmore. The fun dinosaur sculptures appear (8:07) in Rapid City. Flocks of wooly sheep cluster and graze in June (8:28). A car moves down the dirt road mowing aside the sheep (8:46). The sheepherder rides on horseback with his dog (9:10). His wagon follows (9:21). Horse and cattle block the roadway (9:40). This cattle camp is situated at 7,000 feet (10:01) as tourists await their turn for a ride (10:09). The road down bends as a snake between lush green trees (10:33). Grand Teton National Park features Grand Teton peak and hiking trails (10:47). Two lakes are situated nearby; Jenny and Leigh Lakes (11:00). Sparkling waters are surrounded by the Teton Range (11:37). Pastel flowers grow along the hills (11:54). The trip travels to Jackson Hole, Wyoming and the Church of the Transfiguration (12:03). Tourists mill around the outside of wooden church (12:09). Horse and buggy move down the road (12:49). Herds of Elk meet at the Tetons (13:22). They bathe and drink in the water (13:32). Moose Pond appears near the range (13:42). Trees called the Quaking Aspen stand behind moose near the water’s edge (14:12). Close shots show the moose moving through twigs and foliage (14:38). Snow patches dot the Teton Range (14:53).

Motion picture films don’t last forever; many have already been lost or destroyed. For almost two decades, we’ve worked to collect, scan and preserve the world as it was captured on 35mm, 16mm and 8mm movies — including home movies, industrial films, and other non-fiction. If you have endangered films you’d like to have scanned, or wish to donate celluloid to Periscope Film so that we can share them with the world, we’d love to hear from you. Contact us via the weblink below.

This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com