Friday, 9/29/17

This is our last day camping in the West and we spent it in the Badlands! 

a pronghorn 

 one of the 120 bighorn in the Badlands

 pronghorn sheep

 a prairie dog town

 those are buffalo, not seals

This is our last day camping and we spent it in the Badlands! 

After a simple breakfast of cereal and coffee we returned to the Visitors’ Center and watched a movie about the area which emphasized the difficulty of both surviving and making a living in this area that was once entirely part of the Lakota Nation.  We then drove to the “Door” & “Window” trailheads where we took short hikes into the Badlands.  From there we drove across the park, stopping at numerous pullovers to enjoy the landscape and wildlife.  Even in this barren wasteland we saw some beautiful fall foliage!

We also saw prairie dogs by the thousand, a small group of pronghorn sheep, some bighorn sheep, and finally after a 6+ mile drive down a gravel road, the iconic buffalo.  A whole herd of them!

With our wildlife fix satisfied, we stopped in Wall, the home of the classic tourist trap, Wall Drug, who have hundreds of billboards throughtout the Dakotas; very similar to I-95’s “South of the Border.  After a quick walk through of the mall like Wall Drug, which sells everything from Western Wear to fudge, we had an enjoyable lunch at the Badlands Saloon, and then headed back toward the eastern end of the national park. 

Before re-entering the park, we stopped at the nearby “Minuteman Missile National Historical Site” which is a museum to the Cold War and numerous Minuteman Missile launch control facilities that located in this area, North Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana.  It was fascinating and creepy; especially with Trump and Kim Jong-un playing their daily game of chicken.  I left the following message in the visitors log, “…if Trump calls, don’t answer!”

All in all, today was a relaxing one.  We only recorded 78 miles on our odometer, and we were back at our campsite by 4 pm.

Tomorrow we start our trip home with stops in Madison, Wisconsin, West Bloomfield, Michigan; to visit my sister, Wendy; and Massena, New York; to visit Joni’s Aunt Roey. 

This will be my last blog entry for this incredible trip.  My father always talked about taking such a trip, but he never made it.  He would have loved it. 

Joni and I have indeed been fortunate to visit so much of our beautiful country.  Words, photographs and videos don’t do it justice.  As much as the thrill of seeing so many of our country’s natural resources, we have equally enjoyed the people that we have met along the way.  Travellers seem to be more willing to talk to each other as we explore our country’s treasures. 

Can’t wait to start planning our next trip!