I’ll be honest, I didn’t really know what the Badlands were; but I am a fan of the Springsteen song. I’ve been to the Grand Canyon and this was different. Stone, yes, canyons, yes, but more spread out, more expansive. And each section of the park seemed to offer a different, unique kind of experience. First, there were the ‘sand castles’, rising up from the sandy soil in masses. It looked like a giant built them. As I looked from one to the other I could almost imagine myself on the beach with the ocean breeze. Next, it was as if we were transported to the dinosaur age with these striped tree-trunk like structures from Jurassic Park and I swear I fully expected to see a T-Rex come from around the corner of one of them. We hike a short distance in this section and I actually saw three different fossils. A bone, something that looked like a jaw with teeth and another one that resembled a hip or collar bone. Very cool. The stone in other parts of the park was flatter with large boulders with dimples and swiss-cheese holes which made me feel like we could’ve been on Mars or another planet way up in space and far from South Dakota. It reminded me of the television show “Lost in Space”. While driving through the park on the scooter, I noticed walls of stone that looked like it could’ve been a cliff village for earlier civilizations. I thought about the Native Americans that settled in this place and how different things are today. We are so fortunate and I am reminded of that often. Finally, there were the ‘yellow mounds’ which were from a time when vegetation was present. They looked out of place to me but pretty nonetheless.

I mustn’t forget the prairie and the very active and intricate prairie dog town. This is where the native prairie dogs set up house by digging holes and elaborate underground tunnels. They pop up and down sending out warning signals when visitors stop for a photo. They are endlessly entertaining and didn’t seem to be bothered at all by the big-horned sheep nearby. The prairie was glorious with its greens and browns that seemed to gone on forever and wrap around the earth. Badlands wasn’t my favorite park but it was rich with diversity which is not at all what I expected when we entered.

We weren’t able to camp in the park so we found a spot right outside it. There we had a beautiful view and met a nice woman named Sue and her 4-legged companion, Sophie, traveling from NC. We invited her under our canopy to escape the scorching heat of the sun and talked over some beers. Jackson got to play with one of his kind and all was good. We didn’t get to see the stars because every night in SD has been cloudy and/or rainy.

The next day we took off for Wind Cave National Park in southern South Dakota. Again, I knew nothing of this park either; had never heard anyone ever talk about it. We drove along highway 16 and 87 through Custer State Park and I started to get excited. Hills, trees, rocks, water! We were worried we wouldn’t find a campsite since we were approaching the 4^th of July weekend but it was surprisingly empty. Only downside was no hookups. Oh, and no cell phone reception or WIFI (that part I didn’t really mind). That means no electricity or water but what we have ‘stored’ in our home. At first the propane wasn’t working so our fridge was off and I worried about all the stuff we had in our freezer that might go bad. Dave had to walk about ½ mile to get phone reception and by the time he came back we were up and running. Can’t say why; we are learning as we go here. In fact, for the first couple of nights on the road we were quite chilly in the camper. I wanted to pack a second blanket but Dave insisted we’d be warm most nights. Well, not out here! After three nights snuggling to stay warm we realized we could have just turned on the heat!!! I digress. Our campsite in Elk Mountain Campground is great. Everything you think of when you think of camping (except showers, but we have one of those). We took a walk with Jackson in the field behind us and his face expressed pure adulterated JOY. He loves to run. Dave built a fire and we cooked for the first time this trip on fire. Shortly after dinner the clouds came in and rain sprayed down for the rest of the night. That gave me a chance to open a book – “Blue Highways”. It’s nice to be off the grid. We haven’t watched television in over 2 weeks and I don’t miss it at all. Except for maybe news.

We got up early and headed to the visitor center. Took a tour of the Wind Cave which was something extraordinary. Something like 140 miles of cave under the earth we were standing on. We went from under the earth to atop a cliff where we enjoyed panoramic views of the vast openness of this park. These National Parks really are a treasure. I for one am so grateful for the chance to spend time outdoors and enjoy all that nature has to offer. I love spotting new wildlife I haven’t seen before and to seeing and learning about places I’ve never been. I am grateful that we have these preserved locations to visit but that is juxtaposed with the sadness I feel for having stolen this land from the natives.