The Badlands

This is the second new post (the last one covered five days and was getting long), so be sure to read that post before reading this one... (if you can't see it, look under August for "Wisconsin...")

Tuesday we arrived in the Badlands of South Dakota, just in time for a marvelous sunset drive through the weathered buttes that look like giant sandcastles lining a prairie sea. The word "surreal" doesn't even begin to describe these lunar-like hills that took millions of years to build up, then erode in the dry, windy west.

The setting sun cast a pinkish hue on what appeared creamy white in the morning. Absolutely gorgeous. I can't believe it took my 40 years to get here!

Once again, we found ourselves disappointed with our camping arrangements only to set up camp and quickly feel at home. The Badlands Ranch and Resort is no resort. A small shack served as office and general store, and they guy behind the counter was a weathered coot. That said, we were wildy impressed by the sunset horseback tour, which made it all worthwhile.

On Wednesday morning, we set out for the Badlands and decided to take a "hike" into the hills. Mom bowed out immediately-- the temperatures were in the 90s, but felt much hotter because there was nary a tree in sight.

Cheryl picked the more difficult trail, which included a climb to the next level that looked a lot worse coming down than it did coming up. Here we were with five little kids, and if Ron had been along on this adventure, he would have shot me for taking the kids up there. Next thing we knew, we were walking a long a ledge that was getting tighter and tighter. My fear got the best of me, and it started to spread to the kids, who cowered in a crevice until we decided to turn around and get down.

Dad went on a bit... here's a picture of him through the zoom lens... and a picture he took of us on the other side. We look like ants. We made it down and worked our way back to the car. Not sure what view we missed, but it wasn't worth losing a kid over the side.

After working our way back down the ladder, we checked out some fossils and headed back to camp to get ready for the sunset horseback ride (and some laundry, but that's not fun). We set out about 6:45 p.m., just as the sun was working its way toward the western horizon. It was nothing short of spectacular. We wound our way along the edge of a cliff overlooking the fertile valley of the White River before cutting down steep, winding passages to the river banks. Prairie grass is plentiful, and the horses wanted to stop frequently to dine. We worked our way back up to the plain above the cliff just in time to watch the sun disappear over the horizon before heading back to camp. This was a highlight of our trip!

My brother-in-law, Rudy, flew out last night to join us for four days. We took off this morning for Keystone, South Dakota, the farthest point of our trip. We stopped at Wall Drug for lunch and a look around. This is Sturgis week, so motorcycles are everywhere-- all over the Badlands, all over Keystone, all over this entire stretch of South Dakota.

We finally reached our Keystone campground and plan to visit Mount Rushmore tomorrow. This is what the kids came for, and I hope they enjoy it!