Badlands National Park...

Well, after rectifying some equipment issues, we can now continue. Management apologizes for the delay.

My stay in Mitchell was, with the exception of exploiting the chance to gaze upon the majesty of the Corn Palace, for nothing other than to rest and spend the night. It would be a solid seven hours to Buffalo, and I wanted to make sure I was well rested.

Driving along the highway out here, you can lose sight of the fact that, once upon a time, there were no roads out here. It had far more of a "Bonanza/Big Valley" sorta' vibe to it. Once we got into the whole pavement thing, though, obviously that changed. In the case of I-90, which opened in 1956, it sails through 13 states between Boston and Seattle, and the vast majority of it is straight and flat and boring as Hell.

I'd decided I would stay at the Occidental Hotel in Buffalo, It's an old historic hotel that once hosted the likes of Ernest Hemingway and Butch Cassidy. My drive, however, was somewhat waylayed by an unexpected treat, Badlands National Park.

The entrance to Badlands National Park...

The Lakota dubbed this area "mako sica"or "bad lands" long ago because its rocky terrain, lack of water and extreme temperatures made it difficult to traverse. Today, though, you can drive the loop through the badlands in a little more than an hour.

 

As amazing as every vista was, you were met with one even more stunning around every turn. Any attempt by me to adequately describe it would certainly fall short, so I'll just let the photos tell you about "the Badlands":

 

 

If you visit, be cautious. The winds out here blow at 40-50 knots. Those aren't wind gusts, those are constant wind speeds. When I got to the park, I was admonished to stay away from the edges of some of the formations, as the wind could easily pick you up and thrown you over the side, and some of those sides were 100-200 foot drops. 

As I said, you can drive the loop in just over an hour and, even if you're on some self-imposed driving schedule like I always seem to be, it's worth it to take the time at Badlands. 

The cost per vehicle may seem high; $30 for a private automobile and its occupants, but that's for seven days, just in case you happen to be staying in the area and want to explore the park on foot over subsequent days. That comes out to a whopping $4.28 a day. You can't even buy a raspberry-mocha-mint-creme-girlie-boy-foo-foo-bullshit coffee at Starbucks for that.

Also, if you happen to be a Veteran or Active Duty military, you won't pay a dime. When I was getting ready to pony up the thirty bucks at the gate, the Ranger asked if I was former military. When I showed him my retired ID card, he handed me back my money and handed me a credit-card sized pass to hang from my rear view mirror. It's good for free admission at all national parks for a year. I've already put it to good use, as I would later visit Little Big Horn on this trip, and I'll use it again when we drive through Yellowstone next week. Be sure to carry your retired ID, or even a photo on your phone of your DD-214 should be sufficient.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give Badlands a solid 9.5, if only because there aren't too many other places you can go to see terrain like this. It exists in the Anzo-Borrego Desert in California, but that's the only other place I've encountered it, but on a much smaller scale.

So, if you happen to find yourself cruising down I-90 in South Dakota, take the time to visit Badlands National Park. Just make sure you bring a camera...