A "Homecooking" sign, perched on the side of a gravel road in southwestern South Dakota, stops me ... buttes draw 900,000 people a year to Badlands National Park, the heart of the landscape.

Much of this volcanic ash comes from the Great Basin, a geographic area within which the states of Utah and Nevada lie today.

The country’s largest employer, the federal government, has laid off tens of thousands of employees since February 14th. It’s all a part of the Trump administration’s efforts to streamline government ...