Not So Bad-Lands

Day 3 was another long driving day. We drove across most of Iowa, up along the eastern border of Nebraska and westward across South Dakota. We made a stop in Mitchell to see the famous Mitchell Corn Palace. The Mitchel Corn Palace is a city auditorium that is decorated inside and out with mosaics made of ears of corn. The citizens design new art each year to replace the previous years scenes, usually following a central theme. Unfortunately we arrived after five o'clock and the inside was closed. So we walked around a bit and took some photos before hitting the road again. We arrived at Badlands National Park just before dark and parked in their Cedar Pass campground. I was pleased and surprised to discover they had recently installed 50 amp electrical service. Most sites were level pull-throughs, so we picked a nice one over-looking the prairie on one side and the Badlands bluffs on the other side. We had driven over 1500 miles since leaving home 3 days ago and were ready to sit for a few days and have some fun.

The next morning western meadowlarks and black-billed magpies were swarming the meadow around the coach. However, by the time I got my camera and tripod set up they they had all disappeared. Very strange!

Today's order of business was to explore the park. We backtracked to Cedar Pass and did some short trails: the Cliff Shelf Nature Trail, the Notch Trail and the Window Trail. Then we drove west on the Badlands Loop Road looking for scenery and wildlife. We found both. We saw bison, pronghorns, bighorn sheep, mule dear and and prairie dogs. While out that way, we cut cross-country and zigged up to Wall SD, famous for Wall Drug, where travelers have enjoyed a cup of free ice water since 1936. Wall Drug is a classic tourist trap, but it's cool and has been around so long it is iconic. It's kinda like Graceland, you gotta go at least once in your life.

We had originally planned to spend only two nights in the Badlands. We would then spend the next day and evening at Mt. Rushmore. However, the evening we intended to go to Mt. Rushmore was forecast for heavy storms. We figured that might put a damper on the evening lighting ceremony. So we decided we would hang out in Badlands NP a third night and relax and catch up on some chores. That means basically do nothing. On the third evening we enjoyed a far-off thunder storm. Most of the wind and rain skirted us to the south.

Tomorrow Rushmore !