A lot of driving, a lot of flat space. Even after we entered the Bandlands National Park, the plains sprawled out for miles, beautiful and grassy. Suddenly out of nowhere the plains look as if they are falling away as you stare at them to reveal layers of history. Standing here, the Earth feels as if at any moment it will slip away into these strangely eroded crevasses. Erosion is King here, creating these gorgeous formations, deep canyons, pinnacles and spires, and revealing one of the worlds richest fossil beds. Evidence of the sea that once covered the area, the Yellow Mounds' paleosols contrast beautifully with the greys of the surrounding cliffs.
I have to admit, I was unsure about camping here, but once I saw the campground I was totally in love! Maybe it was just because evening had began and a light warm breeze tickled the wildflowers surrounding the tent. It was probably because each site had a wooden wind breaker covering the picnic tables, I want one of my own! Pictures are: The campsite, the campground, mountain view over an empty site, sunset view, and the sun illuminating my tent - dome light! Also, say hey to the camping trunk, heyyy! That trunk has been through a lot!
There are hikes in the Badlands, the boardwalks with informational plaques are especially nice, but there also seems to be an open space policy. If you can be smart and respectful you can sorta walk around wherever you like...you want to go walk down that canyon over there, ok yeah, keep an eye out! I definitely would love to come back and continue exploring this place - there is a hike-in campsite that you could see from one of the points and I think I'll have to check it out next time!
After leaving the Mammoth Caves in Kentucky, we saw a very interesting billboard advertising a place called "Wall Drug." Some miles later we saw another billboard, "The Free Ice Store!" Then another, then another. For nearly 900 miles (yes, I calculated it), yes, 900 miles..this "Wall Drug" advertised with billboard after billboard (in hindsight I really should have taken more pictures of the signs!), each unique and advertising something different. Upon leaving Badlands you are basically fed right into Wall Drug and after 900 miles of dedicated advertising how could we not check it out?! The sign on the door cracked me up, I felt like it should say "Glad you finally made it!" Let me just give a tip of the hat to Wall Drug, it was pretty amazing. I proudly put a "Where the heck is Wall Drug??" bumper sticker on my trunk. What is it? I'll leave it for you to discover one day!
