Our journey continues to Badlands National Park and we enter into the park on the West side and are immediately awestruck at every turn. This is a much anticipated place on our journey and it is a million times better than we ever imagined. Words can not describe the rugged beauty and incredible diversity of this land. It is jaw dropping, amazing.
The orange/pink rock formations tower upward in a sea of pinnacles that you just have to see to appreciate. We set off on a couple of short trails to take in the view, especially enjoying a magnificent sunset over these extraordinary edifices, absolutely gorgeous. As darkness sets in we find the camp ground and set up in a rather chilly wind. We are sharing the sight with a small group of boy scouts and also a father and daughter whom we begin to chat with. They are up from Kansas City to explore the Badlands, pretty much on a revenge trip as the previous journey they were literal blown away and had to leave short of their plans. Tonight is a little windy but nothing in comparison, though they warn us what could happen overnight. We again love exchanging tales of our adventures but the wind wins in the end and we settle into Jetson to sleep. Luckily the wind does die down and on a trip to the loo we all enjoy the night sky, reminding us of those wonderful star filled nights back in Gidgegannup.
In the morning we are treated to a spectacular sunrise as we pack up and head off to do some more trekking over this fantastic landscape, our new Kansas friends doing the same. Our hike takes us through, up and over some spectacular rock formations and the from their tops are stunning, once again we are lucky to get a perfect blue sky day. Some hours later we have stopped for a drink and who should pop up but the Kansas guys. We are surprised to realize that we have literally crossed paths by only minutes but still not heard or known of the others presence. These structures are incredible and would be very easy to lose your way amongst them. Within seconds you can be lost to sight and hearing of the rest of your party. You can understand how this area got its name, especially when you read the history of the difficulty to cross this jagged plateau in days gone by.
The other phenomenon we had all noticed was that the rocks sounded hollow, like honeycomb. The rock is actually similar to a whole lot of Lego blocks and it seems to be loose between the lines, in fact if you try you can actually remove pieces. It is an ever changing face and eventually the whole thing will wash away to the rivers below. Lucky we are here right now to enjoy it.
I think it is fantastic that people can still get up close and personal with it all and that it’s not roped off, I guess because the elements are more destructive than anything. I would rename them the Magnificent lands. We continue through the park in a hunt to see more wildlife and spot a family of Big Horn Sheep, rabbits, and hundreds of cheeky and cute little Prairie dogs in “Prairie Dog Town”. Still we hunt on for the majestic Bison and, as our luck continues, we come across a small group right on the road. What a creature this is, their huge heads with those gorgeous eyes and wooly coats, we just want to hug them though that would not be wise. What an end to an extraordinary experience that is the Badlands, it truly is out of this world.
Next stop is a complete contrast as we reach the very much advertised place of Wall Drug, Wall. This is a town where, in 1931, a young married couple, he a pharmacist and she a high school teacher, decided to purchase the drug store in Wall. They were a small community of 326 people that called this spot in the wilderness home. Though many people passed by on the highway very few stopped and business was really bad. They had set their limit to a five year stay to make a go of it. Not long before the deadline Dorothy had the idea of offering free iced water. What started with few signs offering free cold water has grown into a tourist mecca of the wild west. Look it up and read more of the beginnings of this empire that is Wall. It is fun to see and we end the day with a burger at Wall Drug, where else, then drop into bed at a nearby hotel exhausted.
Here We Come World 