DAY 32
Holy hotness! The plan for today was to check out the Badlands. We were thinking we would do a few hikes and drive around the park, however Mother Nature had other plans. Turns out it was one of the hottest days ever in the Badlands - 108 degrees. Now that's HOT!
First though, we checked out Wall Drug in Wall, SD. This has become a famous tourist stop in South Dakota. It all began in 1931 when Wall Drug began giving away free ice water to poor farmers. Now it is a booming tourist attraction. We had a little retail therapy there as we each had $10 to spend. Maya got a Native American vase, James got an arrowhead, cool rock, and a geode, and I got a ceramic angel (and some cough drops for my cold). By the time we left (mid-morning), the heat was starting to get really cranked up.
The Badlands were our next stop and as we pulled into the gate (and got to use our 4th grader pass again), the ranger at the gate asked us if we had plenty of water because it was supposed to be 108 degrees today. We knew it was going to be hot, but didn't know it would be this hot. So, all hiking was called off (James was so disappointed about this) and we did a driving tour. I know we look happy in the pictures, but don't be fooled...the heat made us grumpy.
When you drive into the Badlands it looks like prairie all around you and then, all of a sudden, there are colorful canyons, fins, and cool looking features surrounding you. It's really quite impressive - even from the car. So, we drove around checking different areas of the park, including seeing lots of prairie dog towns. These little critters are so fun to watch. I love how they stand up and "bark" to alert their friends and relatives that there could be danger. Underground, there must be huge prairie dog parties. We snapped some pictures, but they don't capture the energy of these furry critters.
There was a ranger talk about fossils at 1:30. When Mama said that the talk was outside, there was some grumbling, but we all went to it anyway. I'm so glad we did. The ranger was super smart and we learned lots. Turns out that the Badlands are a hot bed for fossils because of how they were formed and how they are constantly eroding. Maya has been looking for fossils this whole trip, so this got her really excited.
We stopped at the visitors center to cool off. We all bee-lined for the film about the Badlands for the cozy seats and cool temps. I'm pretty sure we all slept through the film, but Maya actually slept through it 2x sprawled out on the floor in front and Mama had trouble waking her up after the 2nd. She really needs her beauty sleep.
Once we were cooled off and rested, we headed out to look for big horn sheep and fossils. We turned onto a small side road named Old Northeast Rd, drove a little ways and I saw a male big horned sheep standing on top of a small cliff. He was so impressive! After driving a ways, we turned around and headed back and saw two more males just hanging out, munching on what looked like dry prickley stuff - yum. We got some got pictures.
Then, Maya saw a wash where she wanted to look for fossils (before she didn't even want to get out of the car because she said it was too hot, but this girl is motivated by fossils). She only had to look for a few minutes before she found one in a layer of the wash. So, we took note of where it was and made a few small rock cairns to tell the park service. In all of the excitement, I slipped on some loose rocks and fell. I tried to brace my fall with my hand which landed smack on top of a cactus. OUCH! I would not recommend high fiving a cactus - it hurts! So, I spent the next day pulling prickers out of my hand. And Maya got to report her find to the rangers. So, when I think of the Badlands, I may think of cool animals or beautiful landscapes, but most likely I will think of it being a hot and prickley place.
We stayed at a KOA Kamping Kabin for the night which was awesome. There was a pool for cooling off, beautiful birds, a cute bat on the door to our cabin, and the best surprise of all was that there was air conditioning in the our cabin. What a treat! Plus, there was a stunning sunset and sunrise that painted the sky.
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