The Badlands & A Rest

Entering the Badlands.

Ben Enjoying Our Walk.

Doesn't it look like Indians should come riding up over that hill?

Relaxing!



Friday, June 17

We were tired! We woke up still blurry and realized how hard we'd been pushing it and how long the days had been in the truck. We laughed when we realized we were both thinking that we were almost home because we were on the east side of Wyoming. This is one big country. We decided to take the day off, not drive as far and relax a little.

We met our neighbors in the campground as we were packing up. They were from Switzerland, but spoke good English and would occasionally confer over a word or phrase. They had rented a motor home in Denver and were traveling to some of our National Parks. They were close to our age and so enjoyable to talk to. We swapped stories and they advised us on traveling in Europe. We wished we had had more time with them, but we were off in opposite directions.

We crossed the border into South Dakota and stopped in Spearfish for lunch. What a lovely area. This is another place where we'd like to come back and spend some time. It is close to the Black Hills, fishing, and hiking.

We had a lovely ride through "Dances with Wolves" country and near the famous Wall Drug Store, we took the exit south on 240 into the incredible Badlands. We drove through the park stopping to take pictures of some of the rock formations. We were here two years ago and yet, were still so impressed. We took 44 east to the Badlands/White River KOA.

This KOA was new, in beautiful shape, in a grove of Cottonwood and on the banks of the White River. It was far enough in to be so quiet with the only sounds being those of the birds singing and the wind in the trees. This was the place to relax.

We realized that we went from winter coats packing up in the morning, to shorts and tank tops for our walk in the afternoon.

We walked along the river and up a gravel road across from camp. An occasional rancher drove by in their dusty trucks and cowboy hats. They waved at us and other than that, we had the road and the countryside to ourselves. Ben loved running in the grass, but got pretty hot. It was so beautiful and it just felt good to be out and walking.

We got back to the trailer and sat out under our awning until dinner. This KOA served Indian Bread Tacos. So we decided to try them which was an easy dinner. One more walk and we settled in for the night relaxed and refreshed.