Week 20 - Badlands, South Dakota (The Black Hills)

Hello Family and Friends,

There is just so much space and at the same time so much contained within this space.

Scenic overlook along the interstate somewhere in the prairies of South Dakota

Our entire drive from Minneapolis to the Badlands we could see for miles. While driving we passed Laura Ingalls Wilder's home. She is the author of the popular children series "Little House on the Prairie". We were just driving through expansive prairie land. It was just incredible that we are literally in the middle of nowhere. I couldn't tell you what town we were in as there is just that much space between each. We weren't even in a protected area and it was just amazingly beautiful! It was difficult to sleep on the ride as I didn't want to miss the landscape.

Atlas exploring the prairies of South Dakota

This entire southwest of South Dakota is known as the Black Hills. The native americans gave the hills this name because the young trees were black giving the hills a black look.

Right outside of Rapid City, SD (know as the City of Presidents due to its close proximity to Mount Rushmore) we took a driving tour through Bear Country USA. It is a wildlife preserve, drive through experience where we were right up close to Reindeer...

...Big Horn Sheep...

...Arctic Wolves...

...Bison...

...and Bears...

We made sure to follow the park rules and keep our windows up (mostly). One section of the park you can get out and walk around. We saw a whole nursery of baby bears. They were just like toddlers, very playful

They keep the baby bears separate for immunization and to protect them from other adult bears.

My "baby bear"

We did make it up to Mount Rushmore. We learned that the original plan was for their full torso to be etched into the rock. However the original artist passed away, the rocks were not cooperating and the money ran out. The most surprising fact is that not one person died during construction.

Sarah, Danielle, Brett and Atlas at the base of Mount Rushmore

We also drove "Needle Highway" in Custer state park. We weren't sure what we were in for. We were expecting some sharp rock formations. But the highway got its name because you literally drive through the rock as though threading a needle. Sarah even reached out the window and touched the rock.

Passing through one of the rock faces on Needles Highway.

A beautiful view of the lake in Custer State Park. You can literally see the glacier activity that carved the lake.

Saving the best for last, Badland National Park. We thought we had seen Buffalo up close when we were in Bear Country USA. However, once we reached Badlands, one stared Brett down.

We decided on an evening trip to the Badlands so that we could see the sunset and see the stars. The Badlands are known for being so far out that there is no light pollution.

Standing right infront of the cliffs of the Badlands.

Sunset in the Badlands.

The Badlands is just so expansive. We were there for 5 hours and didn't even see even a glimmer of the park. There is a scenic loop with 16 named viewing points. I think we got to like 5 or 6. We completely ran out of time for any hiking (let's be real, more like trail walking). The Badlands is truly the rugged wild west. There was one scenic stop where you can just walk off trail. They have a backcountry logbook for you to put your name, contact info and the direction your headed along with anticipated return date should they need to mount a search party. I mean how crazy is that. You just forge your own trail through the Badlands. There were multiple scenic overlooks with steep drop offs and nothing to keep you from going over the edge. We kept a tight hand on Atlas and Brett kept telling me not to get to close to the edge. It felt wild and free and amazing!

The edge Brett told me not to get to close to.

The book where you registered to forge your own trail through the badlands.

Taking a moment to remember Nathaniel in the wonderfully wild place.

More views along the scenic loop.

So if you guys remember when we were on Cadillac Mountain in Maine to see the sunrise and all we got were clouds. Well the night sky in the Badlands greeted us with the same. It was the night before a full moon and the sky was cloudy. We did get to see some of the brighter stars like the big dipper and the north star. Also there is a ranger talk at 9pm every night where the rangers point out the different stars and bring telescopes to get a better view of the moon and the stars. After the talk they stick around to answer questions. One of the rangers was a paleontologist and Brett and he were just nerding out. Sarah and I stayed as engaged as we could for as long as we could, but at around 10:30PM we tapped out.

Something else that is as much a part of South Dakota as its expansive landscape is its casinos. I always saw casinos as these big resort places in major cities. In South Dakota they are as commonplace as gas stations and even located within gas stations. Our lodging in Deadwood, South Dakota (nicknamed "Untamed" due to its wild west roots and its role as a gold rush town) was attached to a casino, Cadillac Jack's. We didn't realize this when we booked it, but we definitely took advantage of it. The hotel gave us credits to spend at the casino every day. Brett and I played slots for the first time and won over a hundred dollars (It's not important how much we spent.)

South Dakota was definitely a wild adventure. Next we move further west to Wyoming.