The Badlands aren't so bad......
Friday morning we took it slow getting up and out after the late night. Once motivated, our first stop was the visitors center to collect the junior ranger books and see what they had to offer. There was an active fossil lab to enjoy as well. After we gathered our info we took to a few trails as it began to rain. A fun part of the Badlands is that unlike other parks you are encouraged to explore around outside of the trails. The big kids were so excited to climb the dunes/hills/mounds (whatever they are called) and not be breaking the rules. Once the rain picked up even more we decided to check out a few other spots on our list and try the trails again later. Just down the road (literally) was the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site. It was a great stop with an incredible movie and displays explaining the minuteman missile project and how it came to be and what has been done with it since. While it was the kids earning their junior ranger badges, we all learned so much (and usually do) about so many intriguing things we would never have known without seeing it firsthand.
The rain was slowing down so after we headed back to the camper for a late lunch, Evan and Gray headed back out to check out some more of the Badlands while Phoenix napped and Kyrie and I had some girl time. The Badlands as a whole seem like another planet. It is hard for your eyes to adjust to the depth of their canyons and the length of their chains. It goes from green grasslands to an almost white desert in a blink of an eye. And the desert is spiky and crumbly. It’s wild. Evan was hoping for a chance for more star shots about that crazy landscape that night but the haze just never let up.
On Saturday the fog was still low so Evan worked and the kids played on the playground. So many hours spent playing with other kids, swinging, climbing and running. It was a nice play break for them. After lunch the sun came out and it hit fast and hot. We set out for a few hikes in the park and quickly learned that the rain and mist the day before was more pleasant than the current sun and temps. I can see how it could get real miserable real quick out there. We decided to make the drive through the park (where the car was swarmed by bugs at one pull-off and it felt like a plague coming in on us) and into the town of Wall, South Dakota. Wall holds the visitors center for the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands and guess what? They have a junior ranger program too! So in true Lanier fashion we marched on in and asked what we needed to learn and complete to earn some badges. There were tons of mounted animals inside the center that fascinated Phoenix. There was lots of time of him growling and wanting something to growl back (they didn’t, thank the Lord).
Down the street from the Grasslands Visitors Center is the place that Wall is famous for (apparently). Wall Drug Store started in 1931 and became famous when they started offering free water to weary travelers headed towards Mount Rushmore. It has sense grown into a cowboy/western mega mall drawing tons of tourists from all over the world to a tiny tiny tiny town in North Dakota. It was a fun place to stop and I left with a a great cup of coffee and a bolo tie (and yes, I plan on wearing it...maybe we’ve been in the west too long).
We arrived back at the camper in time to whip up some pizza and figure out the technology to get the Auburn game going (as if the boonies were going to stop us) while the kids headed right back to their friends on the playground. At halftime I put the sweaty kids to bed and Evan left to get star shots since the sky was clear (he also had his fingers crossed for seeing the northern lights) and much to our surprise that’s just what our team needed to give me a heart attack and pull out a last minute win. Oh the joys of football! Evan came back, of course, with great star shots even though the northern lights decided not to show.
The plan was to get up at 6am on Sunday to do the packing chores and hit the road. Well guess who set their alarm for PM? Yep. That would be me. So we hit the road through the suuuuuuper thick fog an hour later than planned and set our sights for Kansas City, Missouri and the central time zone. The only thing in our way was lots of South Dakota, Iowa and Missouri roads and 14 or so hours in the car. We made a pit stop before leaving South Dakota at the Worlds only Corn Palace. Yep, you read that correctly. A corn palace. It’s been in existence in the town of Mitchell since the late 1800s and is decorated each year with a different theme. It’s strange and fascinating all at once.
Several more hours down the road, many bathroom stops and supper later, we arrived at our fine place of parking for tonight: the Ameristar Casino in Kansas City
