Days 1 and 2: Driving, Badlands, and Custer State Park

Day One: We began our vacation like any typical road trip: excited babble in the car, delight at each passing state, and eventually everyone sleeping except the driver. We left Friday evening and decided to drive overnight to arrive at the Badlands. Chris and I took turns sleeping and driving (Not at the same time, of course!)

Day Two officially began as we arrived at the Badlands at 4:30 in the morning! We decided to try to explore in the pitch black darkness. I had only driven about 2 miles when a huge animal scared me from the side of the road. We promptly turned around and parked at the first turn off and waited. This afforded us the chance to watch the sunrise in the Badlands. Wow! How beautiful it was! No picture can quite convey the feeling of watching the sun peek over these gigantic masses and illuminate their rich colors. Here are a few pictures from later in the day.

We spent about five hours at the Badlands, hiking and taking pictures. The boys were such troopers. We took them on a few steep hikes and they truly delighted in them. They also fixated on the "Beware of Rattlesnakes" signs. Brendan especially was hoping to encounter one of the serpents; much to my delight, that did not occur. Here is a picture of a hike that we went on where we needed to climb this huge ladder to get higher on the hills.

After lunch, we left the Badlands and drove about two hours to the Custer State Park area. We were a little concerned because there was a big Sturgis Bike Rally in the area, but we had no problems finding a campsite. Actually, the campsite was part of the coolest aspects of the trip. We camped close to where the buffalo herd in Custer had chosen to rest for the evening. Here is a picture of only a SMALL part of the herd.

We were later privy to one of the most fascinating sights I have ever seen. We had toured around the park some, had some dinner, and were just sitting at our campsite when we saw this herd of hundreds of buffalo go running by. Then, we see actual cowboys-- men on horses with cowboy hats, whips, and chaps-- go riding by "yipping" and hollering to herd the buffalo out of the main area where we were. Yes, there were also men in trucks, but I was amazed at watching REAL COWBOYS do their job! The buffalo stampeded across the field, and the cowboys' horses thundered behind them and beside them to keep them in line. It is an image I won't quickly forget.

The night capped off with Brendan losing one of his front two teeth and we fell into bed exhausted by 9. Lucky for Brendan, the tooth fairy found him at Custer State Park! WOW!

LOL Moment: The laugh out loud moment for these days came from myself! When we were driving overnight, I was drinking caffeine to stay awake, and it worked. However, it also had an effect of making me need to "go potty." Finally, I couldn't wait for another rest stop because they were few and far between in South Dakota. I stopped on a road called Dead Horse Road. As soon as I pulled off 90, I knew something was wrong. It looked like a service road: gravel, no lights, no sign, no people. But it was too late, I had to go! Scared to death of having an encounter with the dead horse that was the road's namesake, I quickly went to the bathroom and ran into the car and scooted back to the highway. Only ONE MILE down the road was a rest stop!