Sunlight was spreading over South Dakota on this early summer morning. It was going to be a beautiful, although warm, day for exploring and I couldn’t wait to get going. I had heard about the Badlands from friends who’ve visited and their stories never really enticed me to want to visit but now I was just outside the entrance to this National Park and was very anxious to begin this journey. While the rest of the family were getting ready, as we waited for the breakfast lounge to open, I was out on the balcony of the hotel looking over pamphlets and brochures for the Badlands in an attempt to satisfy the restlessness continuing to grow inside. They described the Badlands, Mt. Rushmore, and the Black Hills which would cover the next couple of adventures in the coming days.
Finally we were all in our car, a 2008 Ford Taurus painted a dark metallic blue purchased just weeks before. Minutes later we were at the entrance sign where I stopped to take it in. These sculptured mounds of clay with grass covered Buttes set aside by elected officials for all to explore. The car ahead of us had stopped to take their picture by this entrance sign and I decided that seemed like a great way to begin the journey. We all scrambled out of the packed car and took a place next to this wooden monument announcing Badlands National Park. We took a few pictures commemorating the start of this beautiful place. Our Monopoly Adventures had officially begun!
Returning to the car, my excitement continued to flow through each limb with my heart pumping wildly. We stopped at the wooden booth right inside the park to pay our entrance fee and get a map before continuing on. Just a short drive we came upon a parking lot to explore an overlook so I quickly pulled into a spot and stopped the car. Once again we all exited the vehicle to get our first real glance at the beautiful landscape surrounding us and study the map we had just received. For what seemed liked an eternity, I stood in front of the Taurus and gazed out at the Badlands taking it in with my family. I would transition from examining these natural creations to watching my girls begin to look around at these fascinating mounds to seeing the appreciation of where we were in my dads face. There was a feeling that I couldn’t really describe from this moment until many years later. It was a spiritual experience. A very humbling moment filled with gratitude for the opportunity to be in this place with my family.
There was a trail leading out to a point on one of these mounds which I eventually followed with my two little girls joining me. At the end of this trail we felt immersed in this landscape surrounded by these eroded clay sculptures. Now we could begin to see the details of cracked mud with plants growing out of them every so often to break up each layer forming each hill. I feeling of satisfaction had begun to contain my excitement finally but my drive to see more was still strong. Back to the car to find another area we went.
Our map showed different highlights which would become our next adventures throughout the day along with the park newspaper detailing some of the ranger led programs of interest for us to join. It was looking through this newspaper that alerted us to a Junior Ranger program. We meandered to the visitor center to find out more about this program. Obtaining the Junior Ranger book, my wife saw what was required and got the girls working on these achievements. One of the requirements was for them to take part in a ranger program. One was beginning soon near the visitors center so we decided that would be our next task. They sat with several other kids listening to the ranger educating them on the process of digging up fossils. Each one was given a cupcake wrapper packed tightly with soil. Their goal was to carefully dig out the fossil inside using brushes, table knives, toothpicks, and water without damaging what was inside.
Once the program was over they had each earned a badge to proudly wear throughout the rest of the day. Before setting out on this journey I had decided I wanted to get a ranger to sign our Monopoly Board in each park as a symbol that we were there. This seemed like a good opportunity to get that taken care of. I went back to the car and grabbed the board along with a permanent, black marker and made it back to the ranger. Somewhat hesitantly we asked if he would sign it over the Badlands spot to which he agreed. Taking a couple of pictures of this event, I placed the map in between the edges of the board to allow his signature to dry smudge free and returned it to the car. Now it was back to climbing and exploring these beautiful clay mounds.
Over the next several hours we explored before getting something to eat. Once lunch was over I was ready for a nap. There was a nearby parking area for a trail which I pulled into. A ranger program was scheduled for this area in a little while but in the meantime I scanned for a place to rest out of the sun. The parking area had a lot of people coming and going with no real good spot to relax. Off in the distance a little ways I spotted and nice flat butte out of the sunlight. I grabbed a camp chair from the trunk of our car and hauled it with me as I climbed up onto this little oasis away from the hustle and bustle of paved areas. Along the way I was a little nervous about coming across a rattlesnake. Thankfully there were none on this path and I made it to the top unharmed and unattacked.
Finding a nice location to unfold my chair I sat down and closed my eyes. After about 45 minutes or so of resting in piece, I packed my chair back up and returned to the car. Apparently others had been entertained by this activity and taken a few pictures as I rested on this butte. Laughing I returned the chair to the trunk and headed to where the ranger would be presenting soon. It must be a good trip if you can entertain other adventurers with your activities. Once the ranger talk was complete we began to head back towards the town of Wall as the day was getting long. Even though we were all pretty exhausted from our day, I stopped occasionally along the way to explore nearby mounds. One of the most colorful was the Yellow Mounds with the evening sun shining on them.
Soon the sun was nearing the horizon and we were all tired and hungry, although not sure which one was stronger. There was a restaurant close to our hotel room so we stopped in to get some food before crashing into our beds for the night. The next day would be more travel as we headed to the Black Hills.
