The Badlands and Black Hills of South Dakota

I didn't post anything yesterday - first I had very little connectivity in bustling North Platte, NE, but there wasn't much to report about the trip up - pretty boring drive really, though Nebraska was pretty in an agricultural kind of way.

Today I made the final leg of the journey to the real starting point of the trip, which is South Dakota. I stopped first at Badlands National Park. The Badlands are kind of a moonscape with occasional vegetation. I wouldn't say they are pretty, but they are pretty cool. The formations clearly show different layers of sedimentation, some grayish and some a rusty red. They almost look striped the colorations are so distinct.

I hiked three trails at the Badlands - the Castle and Medicine Root trails are pretty flat and not too exciting, though you walk right by a number of nice formations. I took a wrong turn and also did the Saddle Pass trail, which winds down about 200 feet and was technically pretty challenging, especially without trekking poles (which I later bought a cheap pair at Walmart). After I got to the bottom and looked at their map, I realized my mistake and also that in order to get back to my car, I needed to climb back up that same 200 steep feet, which was not too bad after I got to the top - a little winded and had to pause a couple of times, but I made it. All in all, it was about eight miles. The sky was clear and the sun was hot, but very little humidity, which was nice after hiking in Texas.

After leaving the Badlands, I made the obligatory stop at Wall Drug in Wall, SD. Its a famous drug store that has pictures of signs pointing the way to Wall Drug with the mileage from nearly everywhere in the world, including the South Pole. Pretty much a tourist trap, but I did get a homemade ice cream cone (did I mention it was very hot in the Badlands) and one of their famously free cups of ice water (several actually). I also went across the street to the Badlands Bar and had one beer, which a co-worker had suggested I do.

After leaving Wall, I made a couple of other stops - Cabela's to pick up my bear spray, Walmart for the trekking poles I mentioned earlier and a steak for dinner. I also stopped by Best Buy and returned the second iPod to car stereo transmitter. Bought the first one in Fort Worth, traded it for a different brand in Oklahoma, returned that for a refund in South Dakota. I could never get a good signal, so I'm going to use my ear buds instead.

Last stop was Big Pine Campground in Custer, SD. It's a private campground (all the ones inside the park were full) and it feels a bit like cheating, since it has a shower room and a place to wash dishes, but it should be a good entry for me into the world of camping again. I know down the road I will have sites without these nice facilities.

Tomorrow is Mount Rushmore in the morning and then some hiking later in the day.

I will try and get some pictures posted. My connection is so slow its making that difficult, but I’ll get some uploaded eventually.