Sioux Falls to the Badlands

Once we left Sioux Falls, we didn't have cell service again until Jackson, Wyoming! That was about 2 days of travel and made it a bit difficult to navigate, since we were dependent primarily on our cell phone maps to get around.

Luckily, it was easy getting from Sioux Falls to the Badlands. We just took 90 West the entire way. Which means a whole lot of nothing except the Corn Palace! The next best roadside attraction since Wall Drug (which was saw after the Badlands). We had to take turns going in, with the dog and all. It just looks like a high school gymnasium with lots of corn deco and souveniers. Weird stuff. Glad we stopped?

Anyway, the Badlands were really a highlight of the trip. It's unlike anything either of us have ever seen. Miles and miles of caked mud piled high into crazy formations that look like rocks. When you get up high enough, you can see so many miles of nothingness you feel like the only person in the world.

Even though it rained and was buggy both times we'd camped so far, I decided to give it another go while we were in the Badlands. There was no rain, but we were subjected to to new extreme elements: heat and wind. When we got at our site, it was 103 degrees outside. Add a panting dog to the mix and it's easy to worry about dehydration.

As the sun set, it began to cool off and I felt a lot better about sleeping outside. We had a few beers from Wisconsin on our picnic table and enjoyed a nice cool breeze.

Until we woke up in the middle of the night with the wind blowing our tent in from all sides. Amazingly, the tent didn't rip and it stayed grounded, but the frying pan we stuck in the corner might have something to do with it.

It was intense, but don't take my word for it. Let's hear from our guest blogger, Calyer the dog:

Ramping in the Radlands was rarry!! The rind was rippin' reary roudry! I was rupposed to ray on my roggy bed, rut it was roo rarry!! I rawled onto the rair rattress in retreen Rob and Rauren! I was ro rared I was raking! Whooaaa!

And there you have it, folks. The Badlands. I'd totally recommend going. Just, you know, look out for rattlesnakes.