Badlands!!!

The Badlands National Park is a favorite stop when we pass through South Dakota. We camped at Cedar Pass CG at Interior SD in the Badlands NP for 2 nights. We were last here in May 2011 on our way to Alaska. At that time they had just added electric service to a number of sites, a pleasant surprise.

When we pulled into our site we saw a Safari TREK parked two sites away from us. We always check out the Treks; we used to own a TREK, and we still travel with the Southeast TREK Fun Club. Sure enough, we knew these folks: Doug and Judy from Washington state. We had last seen Doug and Judy at rallies in Galax VA in September 2012 and Tampa FL in January 2013. Small world. Of course, with 3000 motor homes converging on Gillette WY, only about 200 miles away, for a convention the following week, it really isn't such a coincidence that we would see someone we know.  Doug and Judy offered to cook dinner for us. Ground beef patties with onions and peppers, and it was delicious.

One of the perks to staying in the National Parks is that they usually have ranger led programs each evening at an amphitheater, usually within walking distance to the campground. We walked over to the evening program, but we could tell there was a storm headed our way. At our location you could see a long distance, and there was severe lighting on the horizon. When we arrived at the amphitheater, the ranger announced that there was a dangerous storm headed directly towards us, and that the evenings program had been canceled. Bummer. We headed home to batten down the hatches, but ultimately the bulk of the storm missed us. We had a bit of wind and some rain, but nothing too significant.

The next day we took a driving tour of the park. The Badlands feature distinct hills that have been eroded into interesting shapes and unusual colors. We saw bison, prairie dogs, pronghorns and bighorn sheep throughout the park. We also drove into Wall SD to see the famous Wall Drug, famous for offering free ice water to thirsty travelers. It's pretty much a tourist trap now, but one that you should see at least once if you are passing through.

 

After our drive Dorcas and Judy did a few short hikes up beyond Cedar Pass, while I took advantage of strong winds to fly my stunt kite. The winds were great, but when I landed the kite I usually got it fowled in the sage brush. We attended the evening program which was about the black-footed ferret. The black-footed ferret feeds on the prairie dogs. Unfortunately, the prairie dogs have been affected by fleas carrying the plague and both populations are declining. There are programs ongoing to treat the colonies, but with limited success.

We will hit the hay very shortly tonight. We have a very long travel day tommorow: ~450 miles to Cody WY.