Badlands and Black Hills—Driving

The road ahead

2019-08-26 Monday 

We had a long day of driving ahead of us today, so we tried to get up and out early. We did a pretty good job hooking up the Jeep, despite the muddy campground— it rained last night, and the campground had a lot of standing water in the grass, and puddles in the road. It wasn’t really mud— the ground in that part of Nebraska is pretty sandy, and the road was sand under gravel. In any case, we worked around the puddles, and got out at about 9:30. 

After that, it was just a long drive! We drove west through northern Nebraska, on a road which is a “scenic highway.” It was very pretty, although it wouldn’t knock anyone’s socks off, but it is pretty in a very mellow way. Lots of bales of hay rolled up, green fields, corn, and then toward the last section, an area known as the Sandhill region (more sand, I guess!) The hills were rolling hills and pretty.

We finally turned north toward South Dakota, after stopping at a Sinclair gas station. It was a bit retro—it had a dinosaur sculpture under the gas sign. We also noticed the price of gas was going up, which I expected. Anyway, we drove 8 miles north and were suddenly in South Dakota. I had originally thought of taking I-90 so we could shorten the trip, but Google maps told me that if we drove the scenic way, it was only about 10 minutes longer. So we drove parallel to I-90 on a road which went through some National Grasslands, with quite a bit of “Badlands” thrown in, and even a section of Badlands National Park (the scenery for those couple of short miles was spectacular.) We’ve been to Badlands NP before, so we didn’t feel too bad about not going up to the main part of the park. We also crossed into Mountain Time, so we are now 2 hours behind home.

Badlands

It *was* a long drive, but eventually we got to the Black Hills area, and followed our directions to Dutchman Campground, which is 6100 feet up in the Black Hills National Forest. The road was steep,

and I was having second thoughts about being so far from all the “touristy” things we might like to do (such as our definite plans for Custer State Park and Mount Rushmore.) It took us almost 30 minutes to get up here once we left the main road. Also, when we turned off to go into the park, there was a 1.5 mile unsaved road full of potholes, which were mostly full of water. So we arrived muddy as well.

But when we got here, we weren’t sorry— it is beautiful, and Joey especially loves being up in the pine forest on top of a mountain. We stopped at the camp host’s site briefly to get a map of the sites, and then came to look for one which might be reasonably level. We found one, but the road itself is very sloped, and we needed something flatter to unhook the Jeep. So pulling forward, we successfully blocked the road and wrestled with all the muddy connections, trying to hurry because of course someone came up behind us and wanted to get past.

Eventually we managed to get it all unhooked, and just then the camp host drove up. The site we’d picked was right next to a double site (which costs double per night), but he told us we could take the double site for the single price. We also got half-price because of our America the Beautiful senior passes, so our cost was a most reasonable $12/night. We have a view of the lake below us, we are surrounded by pine trees, and the campground is only about 1/4 full. So it’s incredibly quiet and beautiful. 

On the way through Hill City (the official address of the campground where we are), I saw a Visitor Center, so we will probably go there first tomorrow. There were also a couple of wineries, and I plan to pick up a couple of bottles of the local product for my son-in-law, the wine connoisseur. After that, I have no idea what we will be doing! I will figure that out once I visit the Visitor Center and get some suggestions. I’m sure, though, that it will be a lovely day.

Teddy Roosevelt's Park

Aug 22, 2010

Today was our Medora Day. Medora is a little town which is the entryway to the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Medora was founded by the Marquis de Mores, a VERY handsome man (we saw his photo, and he looked like a movie star!) who came here from France. He built a meat-packing plant and convinced the railroad to open a depot in Medora (which he named for his wife, who was from New York.) His father-in-law bankrolled his many ventures here but ultimately they failed. The town, however, stayed, partly due to the interest taken in it by Theodore Roosevelt (who arrived here 2 years after the Marquis and was friendly with him.) The town trades very heavily in its connection to Teddy R, and it currently bills itself as “historic Medora”, with all the little touristy buildings (souvenirs, fudge, snack bars, etc) made to look 100 years old.

We spent all morning in the national park, skipping the visitor center at first in favor of the Scenic Loop Drive. The first stops included a prairie dog village and a wonderful scenic overlook. I can never understand why I think prairie dogs are so cute—I wonder if people from places without squirrels think our squirrels are cute!

But the big stars (and I mean BIG) of the morning were the bison! I first saw them down in the valley near the river (the Little Missouri River runs through the park, the town, and next to the Medora Campground where we stayed last night.) A whole herd of them, which seemed to be moving directly toward the Cottonwood Campground (which is the park’s campground).

As I zoomed in to take their photos, Joey said, “Look ahead!” and there was another herd parked right next to the road just ahead of us. So we stopped and gawked and took photos with all the other tourists.

I should add here, “all the other tourists” may give the impression that the park was crowded. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Almost every stop we made, we were the only ones there, or perhaps there would be one other family. A crowded stop had 3 cars at it, and for most of the scenic loop, we were the only car we saw. It was really nice not to have a lot of people around; when we turned off Mo’s engine, there was not a sound other than the wind and the crickets as we looked out over this unworldly vista below us.
One stop was a 360-degree view of the countryside around us. We could see oil wells on the horizon (past the boundaries of the park), I-94 below us (the interstate runs runs right along the border of the park, and at one point, there is a park bridge over the highway), and nothing else but badlands. The three of us (Roxy went on these little jaunts) loved it, and the hot sun was greatly mitigated by the breeze.
We spent several hours on the loop (we also saw some beautiful wild horses near the road as we drove) and were headed back to the Visitor Center area for some lunch when we passed the Cottonwood Campground area again. The herd of bison which had been down in the valley earlier had made their way through the campground and onto the meadows next to the highway. Several bison remained on the road to the picnic area/campground, and of course about 6 or 8 cars and campers were stopped with all of us taking photos. Roxy, who had been uninterested during our earlier bison encounter, suddenly looked out the window, saw these huge creatures only a few feet away, and went nuts barking at them. Apparently she was telling them to get off the road, because they did, and we headed down to look at the picnic area and check out the campground.
We had not stayed at this campground last night, because it has no electricity or showers, and we were coming off a two-day drive and expecting a hot night. The campsites were really pretty, however, much larger than the parking-lot style we’d had last night, and we were considering staying there tonight. Our interest was increased by encountering a few stragglers from the bison herd, who were trotting through the actual campsites to catch up with their friends. When we went around into the picnic area, we met them again, having their own picnic. Roxy was outraged and let them know it, but we went back out (having to make our way around yet more bison in the road) and had lunch in the parking lot next to the visitor’s center instead.

After lunch we went into the center. It has a small but very interesting and well done museum about the park and about Teddy R’s interest and connection to the area (he owned an interest in two ranches here.) We saw not only his own stuff--rifles, clothing, models of his ranch house,etc—-but the skeleton of a crocodile-like dinosaur which was found in the South Unit, and information about the bison herds. We spent about 30-45 minutes enjoying the exhibits and the air conditioning. (Luckily the breeze was blowing right through the camper so Roxy was okay, too.)

We then decided not to go up to the North Unit of the park. Although it supposedly is prettier, we felt happy with the beauty we’d seen, and the North Unit is an hour drive each way. I was feeling lazy, and wanted to have a little quality time in Medora, if such a thing were possible. So we went into town (literally two blocks from the national park visitor center) and stopped to ask a few questions. It turned out that one of the stores offered free wifi (and even computers) so we parked by it and found a connection, and I posted the blog I wrote last night (the campground wifi had gone down and I couldn’t get anything from it, which was why i hadn't posted it earlier.) Then we walked on the street and had some ice cream, and discussed our next move.

We voted to come back to the Medora Campground (with the heat at 94-degrees, we decided electricity was a good thing!) and to wake up early tomorrow to drive to South Dakota. We also decided to do something VERY touristy tonight—we are going to the Pitchfork Steak Fondue Dinner. This was apparently seen on “Best of” on the Food Network—a big selling point, LOL! The steaks (you get a choice of 12 oz rib steak or 9 oz NY Strip) are speared onto pitchforks and fondued “western style” in boiling oil (!) This is served with a “fixins bar” of baked potato, beans, veggies, etc. We will also be “serenaded with western melodies performed live by the cast of the Medora Musical.” It should definitely be an experience, LOL!

So now we’re at the Medora Campground with the AC on while I write this, and Joe finishes his book. Despite the AC it is way too hot, and I have a fan going as well. I washed up a little bit when we got here, and wow, our hot water is HOT—all from solar heat during the day (I’m not sure where the tank actually is but it was hotter than my shower this morning.) The good news is, the weather is supposed to break tonight and tomorrow is supposed to be 20 degrees cooler.

After dinner addendum: well, THAT *was* an “experience”, LOL! What a bizarre scene! There must have been about 250 people there (including 3 tour buses). We were very glad that the lady who greeted us as we came in suggested sotto voce, “get in line QUICK!” We did indeed, which meant that 30 minutes after the dinner gong rang, when there was STILL a long line of people waiting, we were finishing up our meal. It came as no surprise that a steak which has been “fondued” is NOT the best steak you ever ate—too well done by far. We were handed a color-coded plate and we made our way down the line of veggies, potato, cole slaw, garlic bread, baked beans, etc. And then we walked up to the cowboys with the steaks in front of them, and they speared us a steak to go with our meal. The steaks themselves were cooked in big vats of oil and I took photos of the pitchforks full of meat and the cooking process.

We ate at long LONG tables with everyone else, and watched the other people and watched the sun going down on the badlands landscape around us. That was the nicest part of it all—the restaurant/theater was on top of a high butte and between the parking lot and where we ate, as we walked, we had a 360 degree view of the landscape. A very beautiful “restaurant” with a bizarre “concept” and (unsurprisingly) mediocre food. I did it so you don’t have to-—no need to thank me!

Crossing the Prairie

August 21, 2010

After obsessing for way too long about where to go from Wisconsin Dells, Joe told me we should just go with our original plan and “go west”. So despite online weather projections of 100 degree heat in North Dakota, we decided to head in that direction anyway. As Joe said, “we’ve been hot before”, and our other options seemed either unexciting or too mosquito-y.

We got our usual fairly late start from the Dells, jumping right onto I-94, which was pretty much our route for two days. We did stop after a few hours at a Walmart to refill our cupboards and find a few other odds and ends. We are happily surprised that we managed to go for 6 days without a stop at a Walmart or a similar place for a long list of forgotten, overlooked, or emergency items. Maybe our packing is improving. In any case, we found everything we needed, including a mailbox with daily pickup, so I mailed some postcards while I was at it.

(Above: These Amish farmers were selling baked goods and rugs. Their carriages were right under the Pilot sign; their harnessed horses were tied in the shrubbery across the street.)

Otherwise, it was a very long day of driving. We crossed the St. Croix River into Minnesota (beep beep—another new state sticker!) at about 3:30 pm and stopped at the first rest stop so I could pick up maps and other tourist info, in case we wanted to change our direction at that point (still possible). When I came out of the building, I found Joe lying in a shady spot in the grass with Roxy. From there we made our way through construction and Friday afternoon traffic around Minneapolis-St. Paul. Then we went over the Mississippi (it’s much narrower up here than it is further south! And it goes right through Mpls-SP—am I the only one who didn’t realize this before?) and headed northwest. We stopped sometime around dusk for dinner, and then continued on our way.

At about this point, Joe made a discovery—he could not find his cell phone. After much searching and thought, he realized that it must have fallen out of his pocket when he was lying in the grass earlier in the day. So we added to our agenda for the next day to find an AT&T store in Bismarck, and try to replace it. Meanwhile he turned off the service by using my phone.

At about 10pm we crossed the Red River into Fargo, North Dakota (beep beep!) So this is the truth: it is VERY VERY DARK at night in North Dakota, even on an interstate highway (with a speed limit of 75, btw). There were almost NO cars. There wasn’t even the almost obligatory rest area/tourist info stop within a mile or two of the state line. Two out of three exits say “no services”, and it was extremely eerie in the nighttime. By the light of the moon we could see fog rising in the fields next to us, and from time to time we drove through bands of fog over the highway. I started to freak out a little bit (without the tourist rest stop I didn’t even have a good map) but we had our trusty Next Exit book which told us that in about 50 miles there was a highway rest area. We got there at about 11 pm and that was enough driving, we were both quite tired—we’d travelled 510 miles since morning. And luckily,this rest area also had enough tourist info (and maps) to make me happy.
We hit the road again in the morning and stopped an hour later in Jamestown, the first place of any size we came to. We wanted to find some wifi so we could possibly check online on where we might find an AT&T store. We also figured it was a great opportunity to see the World’s Largest Buffalo. So we went to Frontier Village. While there I asked someone if she had any idea where we might find an AT&T store, and she told me that “probably the nearest one is in Minnesota”, LOL! It seems AT&T doesn’t operate in ND. She was, however, able to point us in the direction of someplace with wifi. Unfortunately that didn’t help, because the AT&T store locator page was completely worthless. So it seems Joe won’t have a replacement phone any time before Nebraska, since I’m guessing SD doesn’t have AT&T either. Meanwhile I updated my Facebook status from Jamestown.
From Jamestown we drove another 100 miles to Bismarck, the capital of ND. The guide book mentioned something about the state capitol being unusual, so we decided we’d get off the highway to see it, and to have some lunch. We didn’t go inside (we were there during the time it was closed, but I doubt we’d have gone in anyway. I think the fact that it is 19 stories, the only such “tower” we’ve seen in the whole state, is what makes it unique around here, although it’s supposed to be beautiful inside. Our visit did coincide with the “Pink Heals Tour” event on the grounds of the Capitol. Their pink fire trucks were so cool and their mission even cooler--check it out! So I took some photos and we had some lunch, and left—crossing the Missouri River before I realized it! So no photo (I’ll try to get it on our way back east.)

Right past Bismarck, we finally got ourselves off the “superslab” by picking up a “scenic byway” which basically paralleled I-94. This was nicer scenery (although actually the views from I-94 are quite lovely), and we really enjoyed the next 100 miles. We passed thousands of acres of sunflowers and “amber waves of grain.” Toward the end of the route, we stopped at the “Flying Geese” sculpture, the largest scrap metal sculpture in the world. It is situated on a hill overlooking the highway and the countryside, and the view was simply gorgeous. As we looked down on the fields, we could see the grasses blowing in the wind, looking absolutely like flowing water (the illusion was increased by the most “flowy” field being the color of spring green). Plus the varying shades of greens, and golds, and the shadows in the distance, and the hills, were simply fabulous. Such a beautiful state with such broad vistas and wide horizons…. We just love it. And then we jumped back on “the slab” for the last 30 or so miles to Medora, ND, the entryway to Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
So we are now nestled in a campsite in Medora at the foot of the Badlands-we are right by the river under the cottonwood trees, looking at striated rock perhaps 100 yards away from us. It is hot, as advertised, but it seems that North Dakota has a VERY strong “breeze” blowing today, and it has helped hugely. We seem also to have entered Mountain Time, which means we gained an hour to relax this evening. In fact, Joe and I are sitting outside in our lounge chairs with the breeze blowing. He’s reading, and I of course am typing. Roxy is lying nearby, and not embarrassing us too much by barking at the very-close neighbors and their little white dog. Tomorrow, we explore the Badlands!

It's Good in the Badlands

We have had a wonderful day! We woke up and took our time getting out, because I wanted to tidy up the "house" after the disruptions of the past few days, and Joe had a few housekeeping chores of his own. Plus we needed time to upload the blog from yesterday, and Roxy wanted to go for a walk. Since she's been so good, we took her to the White River, the border of the campground. We were surprised to see that the river was mostly dried up, but Roxy loved the whole thing. Something evidently smelled great to her, and she started running madly in circles, then digging into the clay-ey dirt. We had to laugh as we dragged her away, and took her to the very large dog park the campground had set up. We spent 10 minutes getting her to run, so she would have a chance to stretch her legs-- she's been such a good traveller up to now.

Then we headed out, but I wanted to mail a couple of postcards, and was told there is a post office in Interior. Interior was the offical address of our campground, but in fact there is very little town there! The sign on the road says "Interior, Pop. 67". We drove down the main street and passed a sign proclaiming that despite its modest appearance, Interior had its own history and claims to fame. Here is the sign (I hope you can read it!)
After I mailed my postcards, we left Interior and drove into Badlands National Park. We bought a multiple-use pass good for all the National Parks for a year, hoping that we would get to use it at more than just Yosemite (but it supports the parks, so it is a good cause anyway.) And then we started going "oh, wow!" again. This was one of the first photos I took (and although my photos are entirely unenhanced, and I am not a great photographer, I hope you can get a flavor for how awesome the rocks looked).

I had to make sure you believe that we really made it in Mo:

We drove the Badlands Loop Road--first retracing our steps from the night before back to the beginning of the park, and stopping for some short walks at the same time. And then we turned up the long leg of the loop. More photos:

These photos make the rocks look mostly gray, with maybe some pink in them (if you can see in the photos--perhaps not.) But toward the north-west corner of the park, the terrain changed in some places to rounded yellow hills with lots of pink. We stopped several times to take photos:



The larger animals, bison and pronghorn antelope, are not visible from the main roads of the park, and we were hesitant to take Mo on the unpaved roads. But we did see these cute little guys:



Prairie Dog



Chipmunk



After we finished the Badlands Loop, we returned to I-90, and, resisting any temptation to stop at Wall Drug, we drove the 60 miles to Rapid City. There we stopped at Walmart to buy groceries and some moccasins for Joe, and then we headed south to Hot Springs, where we are now camped for the night at a very pretty, heavily wooded KOA. Our plans for tomorrow include exploration of the Black Hills, a visit to the Mammoth Site, and .... who knows what else?