We woke up with tears in our eyes because we knew we would soon have to leave the Badlands. Luckily, we had a few hours before we had to leave. We woke up at 4am to shower and pack up the car. Around 5:30 am with coffee in hand, we sprinted toward the east side of the park to catch the sunrise. We could try to describe what happened next, but this picture will probably do a better job.
We drove the remainder of Badlands National Park and made our way to Wall, SD. Along the park road we spotted our first bighorn sheep and even saw a mountain goat off in the distance.
We didn’t purchase any drugs, but we did take a few goofy pictures at Wall Drug Store.
That afternoon we entered Custer State Park, SD to drive the Needles Highway. Curvy mountain roads, bison, and burros. We realized once again how amazing life is.
After Custer State Park we drove over to Mount Rushmore National Memorial to say hello to George, Thomas, Teddy, and Abe. They didn’t say much back but we love them just the same.
We drove into the night and made it to Sheridan, WY. This was a monumental day (pun intended) and we were looking forward to a good night of sleep.
LESSONS LEARNED:
-
The sunrise in the Badlands is not to be missed!
-
The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally takes place in August and fills the Black Hills with hotheaded Harley riders. They screamed “flash us” but seemed unimpressed when Mark showed off the goods.
-
You can pack a lot of stops into one day, especially when the time changes are on your side!