Day 8 (6/27/21): Badlands National Park

 I woke up at the Visa overlook that I had stayed at on the national grasslands last night. I woke up at 6:00 to get on the road by 7:00. It was a (Google) 5-hour drive and my goal was to be there by 1:00 p.m. I knew I was stopping somewhere along the way to stretch my legs and get gas, so it would take me closer to 6 hours. On my drive, I was coming up to where I had put in a halfway point to stop and get gas and stretch my legs. However, I was staring straight at a thunderstorm that I was supposed to drive through. It was already pouring rain and the lightning was striking right in front of me. I thought to myself, it's probably not a good idea to pump gas when there's lightning near by. As in over top of me. I had enough to be able to keep going, so I did. But I pulled over anyways, because I wanted to look up if it's safe to drive through it and what to do if you're in an RV. It turns out that being in your car is the safest because if you do get struck by lightning then it will send the energy through your car and into the ground. So you don't want to touch any metal. Therefore, I decided to stay in my truck and not go into my camper to get a raincoat or anything else. I also read that driving through a storm is safe because of those reasons. I looked on the road, and semis and other cars, trucks, and RVs were going along their way into the storm and coming out of it. So I went through it and continued on and got gas on the other side once it was clear. 

 

It was definitely the most nerve-wracking part of my drive yet. There was lightning arcs right above me on either side and the thunder was booming. I was going straight through this thunderstorm. It was raining cats and dogs. Plus, there was construction in the middle of it. About 20 minutes later, I came out the other side of the thunderstorm. I waited a little while longer to be clear of the storm before stopping to get gas. 

By the time I reached Badlands National Park in South Dakota, it was about 1pm. I stopped at one of the first major overlooks, got out, and enjoyed the site of this unique landscape. Then, I wanted to eat lunch and get ready before starting to hike and go into the rest of the park. So I ate lunch, changed, and put on sunscreen. Then, I was ready to go. By about 2pm, I was setting out on my first hike. There was a few small ones right in the entrance of this massive overlook, so I did those. The landscape is so unique, it's just mud piles basically. It used to be a seabed millions of years ago, about 30 to 60 million years ago. 

It was also interesting seeing the general public again after COVID-19. The other national parks hadn't been as crowded as this. There were kids climbing all over them yelling at their parents "Mom, you gotta come see this! It's amazing!" I feel like I haven't been engulfed in that since the pandemic began. 

I continued on to other hikes looking at the views along my way. I did the window trail, the door trail, and the notch trail. The notch trail was interesting because it had a wooden rope ladder that you had to climb up and then also a walk was partly way along a cliff. You had to be really careful, especially because I had just rained a little bit, so the bentonite clay was a little slippery. The view at the end was gorgeous; a panorama of the badlands and prairies beyond.

By this time it was about 4pm, so I knew I needed to get on my way if I wanted to do the scenic drive throughout the park. I decided to pick and choose which overviews I looked at due to time. Unlike Teddy Roosevelt National Park, where I looked stopped and looked at every single one. There were a few that I had read about that were especially interesting with panoramic views, a nature trail, and one where you can see all the different layers of the clay. I ended the drive around 6pm. 

Next, I needed to decide where I wanted to stay that night. I had found a few spots on iOverlander, the app that I use for boonkldocking out in the wild. A few of them were close by, but in the opposite direction of Wind Cave National Park, where I was headed tomorrow.  Instead, I decided to continue on a scenic route, the Sage Road. A little further south from there, there was a couple of spots that I had found on this app. Two of them, were on top of a mountain. It sounded like it was beautiful and it was the closest, so I headed there first. 

On my way, the scenic route was beautiful. I saw a bison the closest I've ever seen. I didn't get a picture because he was about two feet away and we locked eyes. I drove by as he was right at the edge of the road and I didn't want to chance anything. Then, I ended up driving through what seemed to be a ghost town! This was really interesting and it seemed just like the wild west of what you would see in the movies. I don't know what town this was, or if it was even a town. It did have a main street; however, it had about two houses and these abandoned saloons and stores. 

I continued on from there, and made it into some national grassland and up to the top of the mountain. The view was absolutely stunning! I was hesitant though because of the impending weather. It had been thunderstorming on and off all day. Now, I was on the top of the mountain, and the tallest thing there. Including, being in a metal box. Therefore, I decided to enjoy the view for a few minutes, and head on my way. If it wasn't for the weather, I definitely would have stayed. 

So once again, I went on my way to the next stop that I had found. It was an ATV / snowmobile park about 45 minutes away and still in the right direction to Wind Cave National Park. I got there around 8:30 PM. And my gut check was good! I had service (not necessary, but nice), there were a few other people there, and there was even a pit toilet, plus, the sunset was beautiful. Once I got there, I heated it up some leftover buffalo chicken mac and cheese and then, I needed to shower. Like a real true wash my hair shower. That would be my big event for the night. It would also be the first time that I wash my hair in my camper. I've gotten it down to once a week now, and thankfully, all of my friends that I've stayed with up until now have been gracious enough to allow me to use theirs. 

Anyways, then, I headed to bed. My goal for tomorrow, is to wake up at 5:30. I woke up at 4:30 again today, and ended up going back to sleep. But I think it would be good if I start adjusting waking up at 5:30 so that when I go back for work it won't be difficult. Gaining an hour heading west in each time zone is helping me be able to wake up earlier and earlier too. Tomorrow, I would be heading to Wind Cave National Park and Mount Rushmore.