Wow....South Dakota is an absolute beauty of a state. The fields roll on as far as the eye can see, which makes for smooth straight driving! Yesterday we drove a total of 14 hours from the east coast of Wisconsin right on through Minnesota, and on to the west side of South Dakota. We originally planned on breaking the drive into two days, but got a little antsy after sitting for a week and a half.
When we arrived at the Badlands we found a free campsite within the park known as the Sage Creek Wilderness Campsites. This campsite is known for the wild buffalo that roam the grounds of the site (which is totally why we picked it!!) We were exhausted from driving all day but the excitement was still bubbling as we drove through the night. On the entry road (that was pitch black and taking us deep into the middle of no where) we were crawling along when all of a sudden, TWO buffalo come dashing out of the darkness across the road! Very exciting seeing our first wild buffalo. Once we got to the site we circled around looking for a nice nook to park the cars in. When we found a good spot and all the lights were shut off, we stepped out of the car in the most beautiful night sky imaginable. The milky way was shining bright and clear as day. The amount of shooting stars we saw were incredible, some lasting 2 or three seconds across the sky. After admiring the sky for a little while we all headed to bed to rest for our day at the badlands!
On our way to breakfast at the "#1 roadside attraction" Wall Drug, we stopped to see the herds of Buffalo within the area we were camping. It was amazing. We walked right into the area they were standing around in and got some great shots. When we were walking out we met a retired man who was a bit of an amateur photographer himself. We took a minute before heading out to swap cameras to see each others photos. As we were talking he asked where we were headed n our trip and then had me get the road atlas out to point out some great places he suggest we visit. He was a really cool guy, we will most likely take him up on some of his suggestions!
The Badlands.
Once again I'm going to use the phrase "pictures don't do justice". The pure size of these canyons are breathtaking. Their shapes and colors are truly awe inspiring. We drove through the whole park from one end to the other and stopped at nearly every view point. At one stop, we even took a nice long hike into the middle of...well...NOTHING! But it was great all the same! One of my favorite spots was the Yellow Mounds. To see the colors of the earth change so vividly in these rocks was something ill never forget. I even learned that the yellow layers of rock date back to 67 MILLION years old!
So its been a beauteous day here in South Dakota. We are now at our campsite for the night in the town of Wall. Tomorrow I believe we are going to see Mt Rushmore and Windy Caves National Park. After that we should be on our way westward some more!
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