Wednesday June 26, 2013- Badlands or Bust!

Left: Mitchell, South Dakota (pop. 15,254) at 9am CST (D)
Arrived: The Badlands (Cedar Pass National Park) 6:45pm MST (E)
Total time on road: 10 hours 45 minutes
Miles driven on this leg: 273.7
Total miles driven: 1791.6

Game Played: Flap, which is a great game of engagement where you flap a cootie-catcher that tells you and your companion how to act or what to discuss.

Paper and pencil are important because I/we have random, important thoughts and discoveries and I don’t always remember them upon arrival. The thoughts get absorbed by the scenery and our weariness from travel miles and conditions. Today, however, I’m using the time on the road to write on the laptop. Isaac is nestled up front to keep Pete company and that’s a great spot. Isaac is really enjoying our new fancy-schmancy digital camera. I upgraded from a digital point and shoot to a Nikon 3100 digital SLR. Lovely.

We had planned to serve microwaveable lunch when we took our lunch stop. Good thing, because it was early in the day and as we attempted to microwave, we discovered that the generator (you remember…the guy at Cruise America in New Jersey replaced it on Friday!) is not working. Pete really kept it together, temper-wise. We contacted Cruise America and they’re working on it.

South Dakota is FIERCE.

The prairie grass is much deeper than it looks. You can see for miles. It is hot. It is dusty. You can just feel, like a magnetic pull, the spirit of the peoples and animals that have roamed these plains. I know I love Wyoming, but South Dakota may be taking over the spot of favorite states on my list.

There are so many things to see and do in South Dakota that we may have to come back and stay for a while.

Downtown Wall, South Dakota

Get Free Ice Water at Wall Drug

First stop: WALL DRUG!! Yes, it is a tourist trap. It is an overwhelming amalgam of indigenous goods, a café, a drugstore, Harley merchandise (Sturgis, Harley HQ is right up the road) and Southwestern-looking crap made in China. What a fun place! Of course, we partook in some free ice water, a few nickel cups of coffee, a maple glazed cake donut and some homemade ice cream on cones. A

delightful snack. I did see some Tommy Singer Kachina jewelry for half price that I kind of regret not purchasing. It was beautiful, but even at half price, it was expensive and I’m still not sure I liked it that much.

At the base of the hills is The Visitor Center for the Minuteman Missile Silo (no tours available today much to Pete’s chagrin—we’ll try again, tomorrow!) and a great gas station/convenience store/gift shop.

Roberts Prairie Dog Town

Instead of going straight to the Cedar Pass Campground (it’s a national park campground) we took to Badlands Loop around the National Park. I am unable to find words to describe the beauty in these hills. We also took the Sage Rim Bypass which leads around Roberts Prairie Dog Town. At Prairie Dog Town, in addition to the prairie dogs, we saw a herd of bison. This moment alone made the entire trip worth it for me. I love those prairie dogs. Roberts PDT is one of my new Happy Places.

Along the road we saw a young pronghorn (or antelope, as we know them) . We pulled into the campground about 6:45pm MST. It is very rudimentary and I see the sense in that. We did have an electric hookup (thank goodness, because we have no generator!) and while the sun is still out (which it was until 9:15 pm) it is hot in the sun. In the shade, it’s actually quite pleasant. You basically just pull off the road into a spot. The lack of streetlights and amenities is important so that the natural beauty can shine through.

The daytime view is grand. We watched the sun set after enjoying a quick dinner and then we strolled to the amphitheater to hear the evening camp talk offered by rangers. Tonight’s program was by the ranger of the National Grasslands (next to the national park) and it was time well-spent.

It’s the nighttime that is breathtaking. Dense, unobstructed star-gazing for miles around. Between the heat and the in-and-out business of observing view points, I was soooo tired, but I COULD NOT drag myself away from the stars to go to sleep. I finally packed it in at 10:38 pm MST.

4:45am MST and Pete’s alarm literally ‘cock-a-doodle-dos’ to wake us up to see sunrise at 5:08am.  Glorious and yes, worth it. Who knew that included in the free Sun Show was an outdoor concert of the opening band The Trilling Meadowlarks followed by the main event: Bisons Mooing Loudly?!!!

This was the best vacation day because the kids had a good time at Wall Drug and looking at the big and small rocks of The Badlands, we saw some wildlife, and the scenery is so vast and new to us.