Buffalo Gap National Grasslands and The Badlands, SD
Airstream: Crossing East:
Black Hills and Mount Rushmore, SD | Buffalo Gap National Grasslands and The Badlands, SD | Blast across the Midwest | Madison, WI | Chicago, IL | Jackson Center Airstream Factory and Amish Country, OH | Into the East, PA and NJ
October 11, 2015
We let Mae nap before we left camp, partially because It was Saturday morning and Wynne had found a few kids from the Class C across the campground road to play with and partially because we only had an hour drive up to Mt. Rushmore, not enough time for a decent car nap.
At the monument, we walked up to the viewing area, letting Mae stomp around in her new yellow Crocs and taking our obligatory family pic, before stopping in for ice cream and a magnet to add to our collection. By the time Wynne checked in at the ranger's desk to claim her twelfth Junior Ranger badge - she was baffled when the ranger only requested a handshake instead of the usual stress-giggle inducing Junior Ranger pledge - it was time for Mae to go to sleep again.
We didn't leave the parking lot until a little after 5:00 pm with an hour and a half of driving to go, but we passed the time FaceTiming with some family and watching an amazing purple and orange sunset envelope the seemingly endless fields on either side of I-90. No matter what the signs said, we'd have to skip Wall Drug for the time being as we cross-referenced GPS coordinates and reviews on @campendium to find the turn off for the National Forest Road out to our boondocking site overlooking the Badlands.
It was nearly dark as we optimistically pulled off SD-240 onto a dirt road that lead to two radio towers. I was sure to close the barbed wire gate behind us - even though it had been open when we got there - remembering stories from other travelers about visits from irate ranchers. For posterity (that means "to post on Instagram," right?), I ran towards the back of the trailer to get a picture. Nope, needs more perspective. With hungry and tired kids fading fast, I quickly back peddled for more depth. I'm not sure which I felt first, the sting of the barbed wire on the backs of my knees or my back hitting the dirt on the other side of the fence.
It's dark now and there's blood running down the backs of my knees, but I have a feeling this site is gonna be worth it in the morning. #airstream #liveriveted #myrivetedlife #badlands
At the monument, we walked up to the viewing area, letting Mae stomp around in her new yellow Crocs and taking our obligatory family pic, before stopping in for ice cream and a magnet to add to our collection. By the time Wynne checked in at the ranger's desk to claim her twelfth Junior Ranger badge - she was baffled when the ranger only requested a handshake instead of the usual stress-giggle inducing Junior Ranger pledge - it was time for Mae to go to sleep again.
We didn't leave the parking lot until a little after 5:00 pm with an hour and a half of driving to go, but we passed the time FaceTiming with some family and watching an amazing purple and orange sunset envelope the seemingly endless fields on either side of I-90. No matter what the signs said, we'd have to skip Wall Drug for the time being as we cross-referenced GPS coordinates and reviews on @campendium to find the turn off for the National Forest Road out to our boondocking site overlooking the Badlands.
It was nearly dark as we optimistically pulled off SD-240 onto a dirt road that lead to two radio towers. I was sure to close the barbed wire gate behind us - even though it had been open when we got there - remembering stories from other travelers about visits from irate ranchers. For posterity (that means "to post on Instagram," right?), I ran towards the back of the trailer to get a picture. Nope, needs more perspective. With hungry and tired kids fading fast, I quickly back peddled for more depth. I'm not sure which I felt first, the sting of the barbed wire on the backs of my knees or my back hitting the dirt on the other side of the fence.
It's dark now and there's blood running down the backs of my knees, but I have a feeling this site is gonna be worth it in the morning. #airstream #liveriveted #myrivetedlife #badlands
October 11, 2015
Mornin'! #airstream #liveriveted #myrivetedlife #sunrise #wherethehellarewe
October 11, 2015
Being up here on this bluff reminds me of the Goosenecks overlooking the Colorado River a couple years ago. Of course, we had one less kid to worry about wandering over the edge and 6 feet less of trailer, but we took a really similar picture (link to the pic and a post about Monument Valley, the Moki Dugway and the Goosenecks temporarily in profile!). #airstream #liveriveted #myrivetedlife #badlands
October 11, 2015
Just below the grassy plateau are eroded ridges and pinnacles. I followed one ridge extending directly out from our site all the way to this bald knoll. A quick text to Ann back at the trailer to take a burst of pics and voila! #badlands #fameimgonnaliveforever #jumpstagram
October 12, 2015
Boon-docks! This afternoon, we did the 6 mile drive back north to poke around the famous Wall Drug and grab a magnet for our collection. On the way there, the wind was really picking up, knocking over road construction cones, whipping up whitecaps on the small ponds in the pastures and even sending a red plastic water trough rolling through a panicked herd of cattle. By the time we got back to the trailer, we could barely open the door against the wind. As Ann put Mae down for her afternoon nap, I sat in our living room with the trailer rocking and shuddering around me Googling the wind speed necessary for a trailer to tip over and tumble like a big silver industrial-traveling-family-dryer four hundred feet down into a Badlands canyon; Prevailing opinion was at least 80 mph. With forecasts only calling for sustained winds of 40 mph and gusts up to 60 mph, I decided to take a nap. #airstream #liveriveted #myrivetedlife #badlands #peacefulbreezyfeeling