Day 11 – Spectacular Landscapes and Wildlife

[Long post warning! Co-written by Adam & Sheri – as everybody knows, Adam is rarely at a loss for words]

West Bend was just the tip of the iceberg. We thought maybe we had seen the most beautiful part of South Dakota, but we were very, very wrong.

Before arriving at our next point of interest, we stopped at a rest stop after driving on Interstate 90W for a couple hours to stretch and (surprise, surprise), YOGA. The landscape reached playfully for the horizon and the sky shone bright and big.

Then, apparently out of nowhere, rock formations began cutting into the land and grew in slow motion as we approached, drawing stark contrast to the rolling hills that up until now had only been broken by the ubiquitous “WALL DRUG” billboards. We were approaching the legendary Badlands National Park. After paying our $30 entry fee, we proceeded through the peculiar landscape of small and large rocky peaks and deep slot canyons lined with red and orange bands of iron-rich sediment (aka rust). Windows down, my hair danced in the breeze and the air felt cool and fresh.

We had all the windows open and tried to pep up Maia, encouraging her to enjoy the views all around us. Frankly, she could’ve cared less. I think 2.5 is still too young to fully appreciate Mother Nature. It took some time to alleviate her confusion that these Badlands were not the same climbing gym Badlands that she loved back in Rockville, Maryland.

We stopped at the visitor’s center and got a couple trinkets for the little one and a light hoodie for myself (gotta build that travel wardrobe back up!). After a quick outdoor roadside lunch of a unique take on tacos that used unleavened Native American-style bread as the base instead of a hard taco shell, we continued the 20 miles west through the park to enjoy the jagged peaks and valleys.

We stopped to do a mini-hike and bicker with the child as she was starting to become overtired and cranky pants. How do you explain to a 2.5-year old that they shouldn’t be climbing a dry and dusty hill in crocs and a dress?

On our way out of Badlands, we saw a small herd of bison surrounded by hundreds of prairie dogs perching, hiding, constantly yipping warnings of “danger”, and playing alongside the road. Sheri even got a few great photos of bison wallowing in the dust, surrounded by prairie dogs. One of the bison was about 30 feet away from our RV, and even stomped & snorted at us before Sheri hastily encouraged Adam to continue driving.

This was our first time seeing bison in the wild! We both gasped and glanced at each other in awe.

The transition from Badlands into the Black Hills National Forest happened rather quickly. The dry desert peaks and canyons of Badlands, and the rolling hills of South Dakota, were replaced by steep slopes wooded with hardwood trees, just beginning to show the first signs of fall color.

As we entered Custer State Park, the road steadily climbed out of the hardwood trees into evergreen trees that bore the scars of surviving many fires in the charcoal on their charred trunks. Our destination approached, and the road got steeper and twisted/turned more drastically. As we exited one of the sharper turns, a lone bull bison stood eating his dinner and watching us slowly drive by.

Once we found our cozy bunk bed cabin for the evening, the soft silence and scent of pine overcame our senses as the sun set quickly over the steep slope that rose out from the meadow that hid behind our cabin. The steward, Paul, warned us that bison sometimes wander through the campground overnight, so KEEP YOUR DISTANCE! This had Sheri on alert for most of the night.

Next morning, we woke up to a mountain chill of our first sub-40 degree weather of the trip. After some exploration around the camp and feeding peanuts to the chipmunks and squirrels.

The red squirrels were digging their home for the winter under our cabin; we could hear their incessant digging and scratching as they prepared for the colder weather. Sheri was struck by their smaller size (relative to DC-area squirrels) and aggressiveness as they warned everyone and anyone in sight that THEY were in charge and this was THEIR forest.

We had some extra time before our next leg, so we decided to drive the Wildlife Loop within Custer State Park. The first several miles were uneventful. Just as we were losing hope, we emerged from the trees into open grassland to a herd of several hundred bison on both sides of the road and blocking the road atop a hill. A dozen or so vehicles had slowed down (or stopped completely to avoid colliding with these enormous creatures), as Sheri was frantically juggling taking photos with her phone, SLR, and staying fully present to take it all in.

It was also fascinating to see that the females, young males and less than year-old bison crossed the road, while the massive males stood atop the hills on either side of the road, ensuring the herd got across safely. Sheri laughed in amazement. It was hard to shake the feeling of being interlopers – like we weren’t really supposed to be there. This was their land first. We were fortunate that they were gracious enough to allow us to pass through.

Our nature high was extended and augmented on the way out of Custer State Park when we happened upon a small herd of prong-horned antelope grazing by the side of the road.