Badlands South Unit

We certainly saw wilderness today. Thirty miles from the cabins we stayed in (if you can call them cabins) on the way back to Rapid city, we drove about 15 miles from Senic, SD. And then, when the road ran out we hiked further in about 2 1/2 miles. Some of the most dramatic scenery we've seen yet.

And we just missed getting a photo of  a snake - not quick enough.  But he was sunning on the road as we approached and crawled quickely into the tall grass.

The Badlands are way cool and provided some of the best information and hiking on the entire trip.

We're behind on posting photos, but the one on the right is from Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  We'll bore you with more when we get back tomorrow, so unless you want to see them, don't answer your phone.

Click here for a few from the last 3 or 4 days.

The Big Pig Dig

According to the park rangers, the Badlands is home to the science of Paleontology. Interesting, if it's true, because no dinosaur bones have been unearthed here. That's because this land was under an ocean that split North America in half at the time of the dinosaurs. However, just 90 miles NW of here is where Sue was unearthed.

What has been found here are the remains of lots of sea creatures(some very large), mammals like the ancestors to the dog, cat and horse, and pigs. We went to a site today where palentologists have been unearthing bones for the last 15 years; over 10,000 so far. The first bone found was that of an extremely large pig type creature.

We got in some good back country hikes today and registered some amazing landscapes. Maybe we can post some photos tomorrow night.

An earlier post reported that it was dead here but we were wrong. There are a surprising number of people in the park. Maybe it's because it's not 110 in the shade.

Big Sky Country

The night sky here is stunning. The milky way leaps out at you. Last night we attended a ranger-lead astronomy talk which was great. After the talk we looked through some powerful telescopes and counted 5 of Jupiter's moons. We'll do the show again tonight.

The little cabins we're staying in were built in 1920. They haven't had much done to them since.

A couple of short but spectacular hikes today. Too bad we can't post any photos because this place is breathtaking.

The food here is dicey so we drove 25 miles to Wall, SD and managed to improve the quality just a little bit.

The last full day is tomorrow so I expect Icky will hike my ass off. Another update tomorrow if I'm still alive.

The end of the earth in the middle of the country

The Badlands. First impression is that it Is spectacular. We arrived late this afternoon after a 5-hour drive down from Medora through Rapid City.

It's definately the end of the season. Nobody's here and the restaurant is running out of items on the menu. We lost a little sleep in Medora because the train came through town about once an hour all night long 100 yards from the hotel. Don't think we'll have that problem here. No TV, no phone, no people. Perfect.

Won't be any photos posted until we get back to Rapid City but we'll save them up.

Much hiking planned tomorrow and a night sky program tonight at 8:30. Looking good so far.

Hell with fires put out

That's the way early visitors described the area of the country around Theodore Roosevelt National Park. We drove 3 1/2 hours up from Spearfish yesterday. It has been raining since we arrived but looks like it will clear this morning.

It's the end of the seasion here. We're in the little town of Medora just outside the park and staying in the only motel in town. Can't post any photos but may be able to use a computer later at the Joe Ferris general store.

The park museum has great people and an excellent exhibit on Teddy Roosevelt. We heard a lecture on his conservation activities from a ranger given in the cabin he used when he first stayed in the region.

Because of the rain we drove a 30-mile loop inside the park before dinner. The landscape is most interesting. It reminded us a littleof the Grand Canyon without the depth. Quite dramatic and does not evoke "Hell with fires put out" at all.

We'll most likely drive to the north segemnt of the park after a guided tour of Prairie Dog Town. Maybe another post with pictures later.

But what about the Badlands?

That's why we came after all. But this whole Black Hills area has been so spectacular it's been hard to leave.

Today Icky lead us on a 7 mile hike called Crow Peak. Toughest one yet -1,500 vertical feet and steep narrow paths but stunning views at the end. This took a while though and since we didn't finish until about 3 pm, we decided to go over to Devil's Tower today instead of in the morning as planned.

Wyoming is pretty cool also - at least the area around Sundance, WY. (Polly had to tell us that the film festival is in Sundance UTAH - thanks Polly). Beautiful farms and many for sale.

Devil's Tower was our 2nd biggest surprise after Rushmore. Quite dramatic and peaceful - not crowded at all. America's first National Monument, it just rises straight up out of the plains.

We hiked around the base and could see a half dozen or more climbers on the shear sides of the monument. Also there were dozens of vultures / eagles / hawks flying around at the top leading us to conclude that the whole thing must be a really tall bird bath.

There are a few more pictures - click here.

So tomorrow we will finally visit the Badlands, first in North Dakota, then South Dakota. We're driving 4 hours north to Theodore Roosevelt National Park for two days before heading south to Badlands National Park. Posts may be missing or sketcky for a a day or two.

Potato Creek Johnny

Spearfish, South Dakota.  The area around this town has some of the most beautiful scenery we've seen yet. We hiked two trails on Wednesday and will do one more long one tomorrow.  The plan is to drive to Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota on Friday by way of the Devil's Tower. Icky's grumbling because we've been here a week and only hiked 29 miles.  I'm sure we'll catch up.

This is what you think of when you hear about fly fishing.  Rivers, creeks and streams everywhere.  There's  a fish hatchery and museum in the town with a rail car that was outfitted to move fish from the hatchery across the country.

One of the trails we hiked today climbed 1,000 vertical feet in just 3/4 of a mile and was used by Potato Creek Johnny. He was a prospector famous for finding one of the largets gold nuggets in these hills and often hiked the trail we took from his cabin 5 miles away to the Latchstring Inn to trade his gold for supplies.  The trail leads to a summit called Buzzards Roost.  After hiking the trail we figure that Johnny's mule was none too happy with him.

There are a few more photos - click here.