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Published: August 5th 2007
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July 24, 2007
Yesterday it was 102 in Sioux Falls, and today it reached 106 in the Badlands. Holy cow, it is really hot! I wasn’t sure our poor van was going to be able to pull the camper in that kind of heat, but someone we made it.
Yesterday, we stayed in Sioux Falls the whole day. Luckily, there was a camper dealer next door who very happily kept our van for most of the day to add the cables to run the camper brakes. We stayed at a KOA right off the highway, but were lucky that it had a pool. We spent hours at the pool and in the camper with our AC on.
Late that night, we drove to the Badlands. OK, so we thought that driving when the kids were asleep was a great idea. It would have been……except that all the gas stations are closed in these neck of the woods late at night. Joe and I actually considered pulling over on the side of the road to sleep, and finding gas in the morning. Just when the gas light was on long enough to scare us, one open gas station appeared
on the highway. Phew.
The next task was to find the campsite. I read about the Badlands RV Resort so we were aiming there. We ended up driving through the Badlands at night to get to our campsite, and the Badlands are absolutely incredible late at night. All the stars were out and we felt as if we were seeing moon craters. We made a few wrong turns but finally arrived at the RV resort. After setting up in the middle of the night, we finally hooked up to water only to find that we flooded the inside of the RV. We quickly learned that you need to check all the faucets before hooking up to water (especially if you have a 3 year old).
So here is my assessment of the Badlands RV and Resort. Not much of a resort, but a cool play to stay. The man at the front desk, who is weathered and tan, has pictures of himself and his wife running this joint in their 20s. He is much, much older than that now. The place is literally in the middle of no-where. The signs are essentially illuminated paint, that is difficult to
read at night. There is nothing around as far as the eye can see.
After rousing the troops to beat the heat, we took off for the Badlands National Park. It is really a remarkable park. The jagged formations and spires make an impact and will be hard to forget. No-one in my family was psyched about this today, because it was so darned hot. But we plugged ahead and all of us were glad in the end. We hiked a short half mile trail, all of which Simone needed to be carried. In addition, we went and climbed on some of the rock formations. Ethan and Elise kept saying “this is SO cool mom”. It was great to hear them laughing and having fun climbing and riding down the rock on their bottoms.
We also spent some time at the visitor center and watched a short movie about the formation of the Badlands. Ethan and Elise completed their junior ranger books, received their medals and were sworn in as Junior Rangers of the Badlands. They are both so proud of their medals that they are even sleeping with them right now.
Next, we stopped at the
infamous Wall Drug. It reminded me of the Vermont Country Store, with kitchy little items for everyone. The kids thought it was great and they each bought some toys. We also had ice cream which makes getting back in the car easier.
Next onto the Black Hills. The topography of the Black Hills is so much different from that of the Badlands. It is wooded, with pine trees, and green rolling hills everywhere. We drove through a very quaint western town named Hill City, and then onto our campsite. We are staying tonight and tomorrow night at Rafter J’s resort in the Black Hills. This is a really cool camping place, and Joe wants to stay here longer. The sites are heavily wooded, and the campground has parks, biking trails and a killer pool for the kids. We finally got to make dinner and have a fire with smores. Tonight, I am finally able to de-stress myself and enjoy my kids. I will remember this trip for the rest of my life.
Kerri
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DAD
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WOW!
What a joy...........super..................... ENJOY! all is good here......it is MONDAY July 29 9:45 a.m. edt......I am contemplating calling you?????????..................loved the pix and the journal.......................Today is the first day of my semi-retirement...........next Sat and sun I am off for the first weekend in a very long time.............. LOVE DAD