Day 3, Badlands National Park, South Dakota

Once we crossed the Missouri River, we seemed to finally leave the trees behind. The oak, maple, elm, beech, and other deciduous trees that we are so accustomed to in the eastern half of the country all but disappeared, replaced by shrubs and grassland. We passed through grazing land, as well as reservations, including the Cheyenne and Crow Reservations. For many, many miles, this was all we saw. It was beautiful though, especially when we could see the wind causing waves in the grasses.

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So you can imagine our surprise when, out in the distance, we started to be able to make out these mountain-like formations. One minute they were not there, and the next minute, they were shockingly right there in front of us. We have reached the badlands of South Dakota. Although the Badlands are very interesting, they are not unique. For the remainder of our travels on I-90, and even on I-80 on the way home, we would pass by these types of formations. They are a major portion of the landscape in this region.

We turned off of I-90 and headed into the National Park. The Northwest entrance was quite dramatic, with a switchback that led down to the Visitor Center and beyond that the Cedar Pass Lodge and Campground.

Cedar Pass is laid out for tent campers and really needs updating for the RV world that we now live in. The campground is arranged so that RVs pull up alongside the spot, along the road, and set up camp there. This would work out if everyone had small RVs, but people seem to buy the biggest RVs possible with slide outs that sometime double the width of the motorhome or trailer. To avoid blocking the camp roads, the managers have to be careful who can camp where. Taking into account people arriving at different times, and a reservation website that does not give any information as to how big a rig each spot can accommodate, the managers have an impossible task. Our spot was blocked by a rig with slide outs and so we got moved to the group campground area. This was actually amazing, because we did not have many people around us and our site was right at the base of a butte. Cedar Pass campground is a campground that is concessionaire operated and one that really needs to be handed back to the NPS.

It was very hot, but the kids and I decided to try for a hike. There were no trailheads by this campground, so we huffed it to the visitor center and then up the road to the Cliff Shelf Nature Trail. Road hiking is no fun for a mom of 4 with the littlest being 6, but we managed to not get hit by a car and get to the trail. This trail was lovely. We saw crazy vegetation – a return of coniferous trees, and expansive views. We wanted to do the Notch Trail, but that one will have to wait as we will need to drive up the road a bit further to get to that trail head.

A 3 mile hike in the late afternoon, after 450 miles of driving, in 85 degree temps; my kids are champs.

In the evening, we were able to watch a ranger talk about snakes, learning all about rattlesnakes and the other variety of snakes found here. Up to this point, I refused to allow my kids to climb on any of the formations – even the ones next to the campsite. The NPS asks us to not climb the formations as we will quicken the erosion. However, during the ranger talk, a group of young boys on a weekend outing slide down the formations behind the amphitheater, yelling and screaming, distracting and annoying the listeners. You can see that the formations near the campsite have been climbed on alot. Notice how the tops are rounded and not sharp. Using this as a learning lesson, I did let the kids gently walk up the formations nearest our campsite to get a quick photo.

We also got to participate in a dark sky program. With a crystal clear night, we saw so many stars! Estimates are 7,500 to 10,000 stars are viewable. At one point, Caroline and I saw a meteorite break apart into 3 pieces as it streaked across the sky. It was beautiful and Caroline fell asleep outside 🙂 We were zonked.

Signs for Day 3