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Windy South Dakota!
As
mentioned in Part 3 of our adventure, we encountered a violent
storm in Nebraska the previous day resulting in a badly damaged
windshield and a missing driver-side window. I taped a piece of
cardboard in the window to keep the wind, rain, and uninvited
wildlife at bay. I learned that high winds are pretty common in this
part of the country, and today was no exception. It was a bit noisy,
but I was grateful for the cardboard and duct tape by the time we
reached the entrance to Badlands National Park.
Wake up kids, we're here!
Up to this point, the kids had yet to see anything very remarkable,
so pulling into the first overlook at Badlands was met with a lot of
"oh wows" and "holy cows." I must say, the excitement was well
deserved. It was like we were on another planet. The pictures we'd
seen didn't do the park justice. We spent nearly an hour at this one
overlook, carefully watching our steps (because of the Rattlesnake
warning sign).
The Layers Tell a Story
From there we proceeded to another pull off that allowed us to walk
around the formations a bit. The layers are quite colorful, and, as
we learned later at the visitor center, tell quite a story. Each
layer represents a different period of time dating back to when
South Dakota was at the bottom of a prehistoric sea. They know this
because early fossils, those dating back to the time of dinosaurs,
are all sea creatures. Geologists and paleontologists are still
studying the area and making new discoveries on a daily basis. Both
are area of interest to us.
Our next stop was the visitor center which is a bit more like a
museum. The exhibits tell the history of the park quite nicely. The
kids got their National Parks Passports stamped here, watched
paleontologists clean-up fossils, and met a pair of rangers that
would be conducting an evening session near the campground. We knew
we'd have to go!
Goats!
After a quick drive-through inspection of Cedar Pass campground,
our home for the night, we decided to explore the western part of the
park and perhaps eat a late lunch at world famous Wall Drugs in
Wall, South Dakota. The drive through the park is incredible and
relatively carefree. Traffic wasn't bad, and the road was in great
shape. Near the northwest entrance of the park, we
encountered a large family of mountain goats.
That was the kids first time seeing goats in the wild.
Wall Drugs - A Life Changing Experience
Ok, I'll be honest, stopping at Wall Drugs was Rebecca's idea.
I'm not a fan of tourist traps, and Wall Drug is the epitome of a
tourist trap. It's located just outside Badlands' northwest
entrance, so I reluctantly agreed to go. It was, after all, past my
time to eat. When we got there, it was exactly as I expected. Tacky
gifts, snacks, candy, and mounted jackalope heads. Man I was hungry
and the kids were getting grumpy too, so we made our way to the
cafe. Being a bit adventurous, we ordered the bison burgers. Sure,
you may call them buffalo, but that would be incorrect (as we
learned on this trip). They are bison... and they are absolutely
yummy! That was one of the best burgers that ever crossed my lips.
It had the flavor of beef without all the grease. Yes, it was a life
changing experience! So, Wall Drugs rocks! Even the "tourist trap"
aspect of this place is cool.
The Long Boring Drive Back - NOT
After filling our tanks and renewing our energy, we headed back to
the campground. Although we retraced our steps, the drive back was
totally different. The formations were casting late afternoon
shadows, and the colors were more brilliant. We stopped many times
and took a couple of short hikes. We saw wild prairie dogs, another
first for the kids, deer, and some adorable bunnies that seemed as
curious about us as we were of them. We didn't see bison, which was
a disappointment, but that issue would soon be resolved.
Enough Already!
Ok, I'll try to end this long story while the kids are still young.
We arrived at Cedar Pass Campground, found our spot, and hooked-up.
There is only electricity in the campground and the bathhouse has a
pay shower, something we aren't used to. We decided to hold out till
the next night at the Mount Rushmore KOA when we would have full
hookups. We attended the ranger program at the amphitheater, and it
lasted till around 11 pm. That's 1 am for us eastern timers, so we
were crazy tired. We thought we'd sleep in a bit in the morning, but
realized around 4:45 am that days start early out here. The sunrise
from the campground was amazing!
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Scroll to bottom for the entire gallery.
Badlands National Park: Finally, something to
get the kids excited. Pictures do no justice!
Badlands has an "open park" policy. You can
hike or camp pretty much anywhere in the park.
Paleontologist cleaning-up a real fossilized
bone
We encountered a large family of mountain
goats near the northwest entrance of the park (click).
The BEST reason to stop at Wall Drugs
Even the cutest can survive in the Badlands
Sunrise at Cedar Pass campground |
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