Badlands National Park

South Dakota!

So, here we are... badlands... turns out there is a reason it is called that. First of all... it is hot. Unpleasantly so (thank goodness for AC!). Second of all, the terrain isn't exactly conducive to human passage. Or habitation. Or really anything besides looking. While you pass through.

We arrived at Badlands after "stopping" at Mt. Rushmore. I say "stopping" because they wanted us to pay $11 to park, so we didn't. Instead we found a conveniently located pullout where we couldn't see the "no stopping or standing sign" and stopped and stood. And took pictures! Then, we left.

We arrived at Ben Reifel Visitor's Center after driving through a good portion of the badlands. It was hot, and didn't really inspire excitement. The good news was that the visitor's center had water! It also had some cool exhibits including a fossil area as there are many fossils found and recovered in the Badlands! We ate lunch outside (hot) and then decided we needed something to psych ourselves up before venturing into the park. We decided to watch the "award winning" video. They failed to indicate which award it won, but apparently someone found it award worthy. We found it good, but pretty normal for a NP video.

Because it was hot and dusty, we decided that a driving tour of the park was what we were looking for. Hiking sounded onerous. There is a road that winds its way through most of the northern section of the park, with several good overlooks. When we did get to the White River Valley Overlook there was a cool trail that called to us. It was fairly short, and some parts were steep and undeveloped, but that made it more of an adventure, and we were able to get some really good pictures away from the road and other visitors.

Personnel:
We talked to several of the park staff in the visitor's center, and they didn't disappoint. They were happy to direct us to the water faucet to refill our water reserves, and in the fossil area the ranger on duty was happy to answer any of our questions. One of the people working on fossil recovery also greeted us cheerily as we watched her work.

Climate/weather:
It was hot (as you may have gathered). Based on our (limited) data set it seems like a park that would be good to visit in the spring or fall when the temperature is more temperate. If you do come in summer, bring water (you can refill any water containers you have at the visitor's center before you venture forth!)

Facilities/signage:
The restroom facilities were blessedly cool, not to mention clean and well stocked. We only found restrooms at the visitor's center, but that is also the only place we really looked. The visitor's center also had a nice picnic area out front with shaded tables! The signs in the park were fairly standard for an NP, nothing really out of the ordinary.

Hiking trail experience:
One thing that was really neat about this park was that they allow you to hike anywhere in the park. According to the rangers at the visitor's center, the entire park is a hiking trail! How sweet is that! Not that you SHOULD hike everywhere, we found several areas that were pretty treacherous, but if you are willing to risk it, you certainly can! The hike that we went on was, while short, definitely fun to kinda find the path that worked best for us, and if we wanted to see what was over the next hill, we did! *Note* There are several designated hiking trails around the park that you can take if you want a more developed trail experience.*

Driving experience:
The Badlands Loop Road through the park is really quite full of unexpected beauty. They views from the well situated pullouts are not anything like what we have previously seen, but they do show the amazing geology and landscape that the Badlands offers. If you come to the Badlands this is a great way to get a park overview in a fairly short amount of time.

Camping options:
We didn't see any campground during our trip to, from, or through the park. The park is often bordered by private land, so camping in or near this park may be difficult. We stayed in Rapid City after leaving the park in preparation for heading north to North Dakota.

Hammockability:
Well, we did see 1 spot where there were 2 trees close enough for hammocks... but that was all.

Scenery:
The badlands kinda looks movie set. It felt to us like a miniature epic mountain range. The colors splashed through the set really added a unique beauty that was fun to see. The further we went through the park the more expansive the "mountain range" felt, but we still felt like we were driving to the summit of towering peaks in about 2 minutes. The miniature feel definitely didn't detract from the beauty, but it was kinda fun to pretend!

Nearby food:
Well, there really is nothing nearby. Unless you knock on a ranch house door... which there are a few, but that isn't recommended. There are a few food options in the nearby town of Wall (about 10 minutes from the Pinnacles entrance).


While the Badlands was a really cool NP to see, we didn't feel like we would be too tempted to go back unless we were in the area for something else. If you are nearby I would say it is definitely worth it, or if you can work it in as part of a larger, multi-destination trip, then go for it!

After leaving Badlands we headed to Rapid City, where we spent the next day doing some vehicle repairs (one of the drawer handles had ripped off, and we added some insulation to the canopy). We also got some laundry done! Woohoo! Clean clothes! It was nice to have an "off day".

Next stop, Theodore Roosevelt National Park!

Wind Caves National Park

Well, we survived Nebraska. Since we awoke and found ourselves alive and well we decided to head to the next National Park, which happened to be Wind Caves National Park. Wind Caves National Park is located near Custer, SD, which is near... pretty much nothing else. The cave is located under a part of the american prairie that is now preserved forever! I didn't see any little houses on the prairie, but then again, we didn't go everywhere in the park... so... still a possibility.

The prairie was actually really cool to see. We saw a few Buffalo (including one who blocked our intended hiking route... we wanted to approach him, but there were signs that indicated he might take offense, which would introduce us to a new sport... sprinting. We opted out.) and lots of prairie dogs in their towns. They were very vocal, and adorable. We took pictures.

As cool as the prairie is, the real draw at this NP is the cave, called by some (well, now days pretty much everyone) Wind Cave. The cave is both deep and wide, but we didn't see any fountains flowing deep inside. They did say that there is water at the bottom of the cave though... which may count. Really though, the cave system as over 140 miles of explored tunnels/rooms. It is estimated (based on the amount of air that moves in/out of the cave) that there is only about 5% of the above water cave that has been explored. That is a lot of cave, our tour guide suggested that getting lost would have been a bad idea.

Cave tour!

We took the Fairgrounds Tour of the cave (one of several tours offered). We wanted to go on the Wild Cave Tour (where you get to do some more exploratory type activities) but it was already full. The tour lasted about 1.5 hours and explored parts of the middle and lower levels of the cave (the route was paved and lighted). There are some cool geological formations in the cave that are nearly unique to this cave (95% of the known boxwork in the world is in this cave!) but there are very few stalagmites and stalactites since the cave is fairly dry. Some other fun features are the popcorn and frostwork formations that can be seen around the cave.

Personnel:
We talked to several of the staff in the Visitor's Center. As expected they were both knowledgeable and helpful when looking into the park options. Because viewing much of this park is about the cave, getting tickets to one of the tours is definitely important, and they were very happy to give guidance on which tours were available and which ones would fit our style best.

Our tour guide through the cave was awesome. We were a very large group that tended to get strung out, but she did a great job making sure none of us missed any of the cave features. She knew all about the geology of the cave and was able to answer all our questions, as well as providing a lot of interesting facts. Also, the cave is a sacred site to Lakota Indians, and our tour guide was Lakota. She told us the Lakota story of the cave and how her people came to be via the cave, which is something that I felt privileged to hear from (literally) the source!

Climate/weather:
Well, since we were in a cave most of the day, it didn't make as much of a difference... but, when we were topside it was quite warm, warm enough that a long, strenuous hike would have been unpleasant.

Facilities/signage:
The bathroom facilities were clean and well stocked (and they had super comfy waiting chairs), and the entrance sign was pretty standard. I did feel like the signs around the visitor's center that directed you to the various cave entrances were a bit lacking, we weren't exactly sure we were headed the right direction, but we found where we were going. The hiking trail signs weren't great either, we relied heavily on google maps to get us to the trail we were looking for.

Hiking trail experience:
We took the Rankin Ridge Nature Trail, which is a 1 mile loop. Besides the fact that the trails weren't super well marked, and a bison was blocking our way when we did find the trail, the hiking experience was quite good. This is definitely tick country, so be wary. Fortunately we did not find any on us afterwards. The hike took us to the highest point in the park, which gave a good view of the surrounding prairie and ponderosa pine groves.

Rankin Ridge Nature trail!

Driving experience:
We drove from south to north through the park, stopping at a pullout to get some pictures and watch some prairie dogs. We saw several lone bison, along with a herd of 15+ that were blocking the road for a minute or two. The views of the prairie from the road were very pretty. And the prairie dogs were cute.

Camping options:
We didn't notice any campgrounds inside the park itself, but there were some just outside in the surrounding areas. We slept in the back of the car the night before in Nebraska, and after we stayed in the town of Custer near a hotel.

Hammockability:
No bears! This park is outside bear territory, so that is one less thing to worry about when hammocking. There were plenty of tree options, including around the trail we hiked, that would have made hammocking quite enjoyable.

Scenery:
We have definitely moved past the mountains. The prairie really is beautiful, there is just something inviting about the rolling grasslands that draws you in. The mix of prairie and forest also allowed for a lot of wildlife viewing as they are very present in this park.

Prairie dogs are just adorable!

Our friend the bison wanted a selfie with us.

He's also adorable...

Nearby food:
We didn't see any food options within the park, but just south of the park is the town of Hot Springs that has some food options, and there are several towns within an hours drive northwest of the park as well.


Seeing and exploring the prairie and especially the cave was a different NP experience than we have had so far! Because the park is fairly small I don't feel like we missed out on anything major. However, it would have been fun to do the Wild Caves Tour (only offered once per day on the weekends, and it books up fast!) so next time we are in SD for some reason... look out!

Yellowstone National Park

Wyoming! State number 4!

We have arrived in Yellowstone, first ever National Park! This is where it all started, and with good reason! We came in the north entrance to the park and stopped at the Albright Visitor's Center. We talked with some of the Rangers and got an idea of the best way to see the park in a day. With their help we decided to go in a clockwise direction around the park, hitting some of the highlights along the way.

We started with Tower Falls. Let me just say right now, while Tower Falls might be awesome, now is not the right time to visit. There is an overlook of the falls, but you can't see it very well, and the trail down to a lower view of the falls is currently closed. We didn't stay there long. There were more exciting things to see ahead!

Our next stop was Yellowstone Falls! Whatever failures Tower Falls had were made up for by the awesomeness of Yellowstone Falls. We didn't spend too much time on the upper falls, the main attraction for us is Lower Yellowstone Falls! The falls is over 300' high and drops into a beautiful canyon of yellowish rock. There is a trail that goes to the top of the falls accessible from the north rim that has a decent view of the falls and canyon (be aware, the trail is steep!) and is worth checking out, but if you really want a good view of the falls, head to Uncle Tom's Trail. If the first trail is steep, this one is arduous! There are over 500 stairs on the way down. And on the way back up, which turns out to be a lot more difficult... but the view at the bottom is incredible. We took lots of pictures!

View from the top of Lower Yellowstone Falls!

An overlook on Uncle Tom's trail.

Next on the list was Old Faithful! We stopped at the Sulfer Cauldron on the way, which was cool, but not worth too much time.

Gotta love sulfer.

To be fair, Old Faithful wasn't all that exciting either (it didn't erupt while we were watching. How rude.) But the other gysers there were indeed awesome. And some of the thermal pools were spectacular! We were lucky enough to see Grand Gyser erupting as we approached! We saw several other smaller gysers as well! We stopped by Morning Glory Pool, which had the beautiful deep blue center, and reddish/brown edges. We made our way over to the black sand basin to see some of the other pools there as well.

Morning Glory pool!

When we got back to Old Faithful (which still didn't erupt for us...) we spent some time exploring the lodge there. It is an incredible building, everything appears to be made with natural wood pieces, but all seem to fit in their assigned place to give the finished product a very cozy feel, even though the building is enormous.

Since our next stop was Grand Teton, just to the south, we were hoping to leave out the south entrance, but it was closed due to a fire, so we headed out the west entrance and looped around to the south, ready for our next adventure!

Personnel:
The rangers were very excited to help us find the locations we were looking for, and had good insight on which roads would be best for driving, and which ones would be better avoided due to slower traffic conditions in the park.

Climate/weather:
The day started off quite warm, which was nice at times, but when you are climbing 500 stairs can be somewhat less welcome... As the day went on more clouds rolled in and we even had a thunderstorm (which may have started another fire, but it was hard to tell.)

Facilities/signage:
As this is one of the more visited parks there were lots of signs everywhere. The entrance sign was also quite well done, definitely one set up for pictures. The restrooms were clean and well stocked with TP, although again some were out of hand sanitizer.

Hiking trail experience:
We got to experience several trails in this park! The first one was the trail down to the top of Lower Yellowstone Falls. The trail was well kept and there were quite a few good views from the trail. The trail is very steep though and can take awhile on the way back up.

The 2nd trail was Uncle Tom's Trail which goes down to the other overlook of Lower Yellowstone Falls. The trail itself didn't offer many particularly amazing views, but the view from the overlook at the bottom was well worth it! The climb back up had us breathing hard and our legs shaking a bit, but it was worth the pain.

The last hike started from Old Faithful, then out to Morning Glory Pool, over to Black Sand Basin, then back to Old Faithful. The first part of this hike was filled with gysers, hot springs, and beautiful thermal pools. The trail was pavement or boardwalk the whole way, and each feature was labeled. Well worth it.

The hike out to Black Sand Basin was less feature rich and more about the peaceful solitude. We saw 1 other couple on that portion of the hike. There were a few gysers and springs, and part of the trail was gravel, but it was nice just to walk quitely together. Black Sand Basin had some fun features and pools as well, but the sun was below the hills when we got there and we couldn't see the beauty there as effectively. Unfortunately it was getting late, so we walked back to Old Faithful along the road, which wasn't ideal but was quicker.

Driving Experience:
The drive through Yellowstone wasn't bad, we saw a bit of wildlife (heads up, everyone will stop or slow when you see 2 bison cruising along...) but it wasn't the spectacular views of Glacier or North Cascades. Most of this park is experienced once you are outside the vehicle in our experience.

Camping:
We stayed just north of Yellowstone on a pullout by the river. It was gravel, and there was a lot of traffic in the morning, but it was a nice spot overall. There are quite a few pullouts that could probably be used, but be aware that this is still bear country, so good bear practices are definitely advised.

Hammockability:
Parts of this park would work for hammocking, but mostly the area around the lake in the South. Not as good as the other parks we have been to so far.

Scenery:
The scenery here is good, but in a different way. No towering mountains here, instead you have the amazing view of the falls, the surreal gyser fields, and the beautiful thermal pools. Still a beautiful place, but less about the panormaic scenery and more about the specific scenery.

Food options:
There are towns all around Yellowstone, and there are places in the park to get food as well. There are also lots of places to stop with picnic tables and bathrooms if you want to bring your own.

Yellowstone was a lot of fun! Our favorite part (by far) was the lower falls, but walking through the gyser fields and seeing them erupt is also a really cool experience. It almost feels like a different planet! It is also worth it to at least walk through the lobby of the lodge at Old Faithful, such a cool building. Seeing it in Winter is something we have added to our to-do list!

Next up, the Tetons to the south! Looking forward to more mountains!