Badlands National Park

The whole object of travel 

is not to set foot on foreign land; 

it is at last to set foot on one’s own country 

as a foreign land. 

                     - G.K. Chesterton

We got up to a sunny skies and 36 degrees. After packing, we headed east. Just down Nemo Road, we saw this waterwheel. We haven't seen it before although we've obviously passed it a couple of times. This time we saw it and turned around so we could get photos.

Traveling on...

We stopped at Wall Drug in Wall, SD. It is always an experience. The streets were full at 10:30 am but we found a parking place right in front! We probably spent an hour wandering the shops.

We continued on and drove the loop through Badlands National Park. The scenery is so different from anywhere else.

 

The sky was gathering more clouds and you can see the sun on some of the rocks while the rest are shaded.

Thankfully, we didn't see any rattlers.

At times, the formations reminded me of sand sculptures.

We stopped for lunch at Badlands Cedar Pass Lodge. The concessionaire is still Forever Resorts. We worked for Forever Resorts in 2005 and 2006 in Rocky Mountain National Park. We got an update and found that they still are a great company and treat their employees well.

The last time we ate at Cedar Pass in 2006, we had Indian tacos - tacos with Angus and buffalo served on fry bread. It was too much for me to eat so today I ordered a salad and asked if I could get a side of fry bread. Ray did the same. Then lunch arrived. That is a lot of fry bread! We must remember to ask the size of things.

The dip was blueberry pie filling, I think. The bread with the dip was so good - and I should have taken a picture of our salads; they were also delicious and so pretty. And yes, I ate almost all of my fry bread. Ray finished his. The table next to us - parents and 2 preteen boys - had one order of fry bread for the 4 of them. We talked with them as we left. When they ordered, they asked the waitress what we were eating and decided to try some. (It wasn't on the menu.) Of course, they could see a serving size.

As we left the Lodge, it was sprinkling. We never were in a downpour but off in the distance, we could see rain. We kept some dark clouds for a while.

As we left the Park, the terrain changed to be relatively flat. We headed to our Airbnb rental for the evening in the tiny town of Kadoka. We are about half way done with our laundry and enjoying a great Internet connection.

Tomorrow we will go on to Iowa. We are meeting some family for dinner and are anxious to see everyone.