Did you know? The Badlands got its name from French explorers who called it “bad land to cross” and the Dakota Indians labeled it as “land bad.” Understandable based on the topography, but it is an incredible place to visit and just soak in the striking geologic deposits amongst an expansive prairie.
National Parks never disappoint. As we continued to explore the Badlands, we moved our two RVs from our grasslands camping spot (see prior blog) to a campsite inside the park, nearer the eastern side.
Helen and I noticed a sign for an “Adventure Hike” the next morning and we thought, why not? As the group gathered for the hike, the ranger checked everyone’s shoes (15 in our group) as we needed to do a rock scramble at the beginning of the hike. Fun! The rangers stopped us throughout the hike to explain the geology of the area and how fossil rich the Badlands were. Throughout the hike, rangers and hikers alike spotted teeth, vertebrae, limbs, mainly from sheep-sized oreodonts that lived 4 to 25 million years ago, and shells from land turtles. Greg & Helen found teeth and then a jaw bone with its teeth nearby both finds from oreodonts. Remember that rock scramble we did at the beginning of the hike? Well, it was a butt slide on the way down. More fun!
Thanks to an early Murphy potty call, I was able to see the sunrise one day of our visit.
There is much to explore in the Badlands area, besides the national park itself, including the infamous Wall Drug Store and the Minuteman Missile National Landmark. Anyone traveling through southwest South Dakota on Interstate 90 must have seen the Wall Drug Store billboards. Has anyone stopped by?
From our grassland’s campsite, we were less than 6 miles away from Wall Drug Store, calling us to visit. Wall Drug Store became famous by offering “Free Ice Water” in the late 1930’s to drum up business. It worked and they haven’t looked back since. The company is still owned by the same family and they can have up to twenty thousand people stop by on a summer day. We had lunch in their 530-seat café and tried their famous donuts. I would say they rank in the top donuts we have had while traveling. We even went back the next day to buy cinnamon rolls, as they were already sold out by lunchtime. The stop is very touristy (as you can see by our pictures below), but fun nonetheless.
Our next stop was the Minuteman Missile National Site. These missiles were developed in the mid-1950’s due to the Cold War nuclear arms race. By the 1970’s, 1000 Minuteman missiles were deployed in missile silos as a deterrence weapon around Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming, and South Dakota. The national site had informative displays and a documentary. As of 2017, the missile force has shrunk to 400 due to peace treaties signed in 1991. This was an incredibly somber visit. The following link provides historical information if you would like to read more.
On our last full day at the Badlands, there was a 10 mile out and back trail or if you had two cars you could place one at the end and hike 5 miles. We decided to tag team with Greg & Helen, to avoid leaving Murphy alone again for several hours. I feel so bad for him that dogs are not allowed on any of the trails. We dropped off Greg & Helen at the eastern trailhead and off they went. After a few hours, Dave and I drove to the turnaround trailhead and we switched places, Dave and I hiked the 5 miles back to where Greg & Helen started. There was a melodic meadowlark that I swear followed us along our hike. Dave thinks it was just different ones. I like my theory the best. And then, a male Bighorn Sheep just sauntered past Dave and I on its way to lunch in the prairie. Too cool!
And lastly, a few more pictures. It is very hard deciding which photos to include!
The Badlands are not Bad to visit Brenda, these are some Badasslands Dave, and When can I go hike Murphy.
I can’t believe how much you’re learning!
No dogs allowed? That place sounds terrible. I’m on Murphy’s side. Boycott that place at all costs. Looks beautiful thank you for the posts. We love living vicariously through your pictures.
Thanks Ryan. So good you are following along this year. Luckily, Murphy got in two good swims today. Hope you are doing good.
Brenda
We’ve been to Wall Drug!!
Is Dave a certified Jackalope handler?
Taking notes for when it’s our turn for a long adventure in a couple years!
Such a great blog & I can hear your sweet voice through your writing!
Kiss Murphy for us & tell him we’re sorry that other owners didn’t teach their dogs good manners & ruined it.
Thanks Gina! I can’t wait for you guys to start your exploration and follow along. It’s been an amazing experience.
Murphy was able to swim today so he is feeling much better. Thanks for following along. Brenda