A HOT! Time in the Badlands

Sunday was our big day in the Badlands. Saturday at the night program the Ranger shared that Saturday had been the warmest day of the year, but fear not, Sunday was going to be warmer. Oh, and it was. It was 92 by our 8:30 a.m. Geology Walk and over 100 for the 10:30 a.m. Jr. Ranger Program. By the time we left the park after the 1:30 p.m. Fossil Walk it was 106 and the word "hot" just didn't seem to capture the inferno that was the Badlands. This is a family blog, but I developed all kinds of colorful adjective combinations to describe the words "hot" and "degrees."

That bit of grousing out of the way - the Badlands really are an incredible place. Once in the large formations, every where you turn is a new and spectacular scene. These were all formed after the dinosaurs by erosion left over from the big inland ocean that covered the middle of the united states. There are many, many fossils here, but not dinosaur fossils, because the dinos didn't swim out that far. Much to Maddie's dismay, any fossils she may have found, (no she did not find any), had to be left behind and reported to a Ranger. They have paleontologists on call 24/7 just in case a fossil is found. This fact was mentioned a couple times and I couldn't help but laugh picturing random paleontologists just waiting to spring into action after getting "the call." But apparently it's a big deal in certain circles.

The Jr. Ranger program lasted 45 minutes in a dried out creek bed and focused on features of a prairie. Since I promised no more grousing let me just tell you about the Jr. Ranger programs in the National Parks. The national sites we have been to over the past two years have each had they're own Jr. Ranger programs. They have different formats at each one and different ways to earn badges or patches. Usually they are workbooks that a kid can fill out and complete by checking out the highlights of the park. The Rangers are usually excited to help, but they do correct the whole thing before you get your badge. The kids also are issued an oath by the Ranger to enjoy and protect the parks. It's a great way to keep them interested as we grown-ups enjoy the scenery and information.

In the Badlands, the kids completed a bingo card with things they saw or learned about in the prairie. The Ranger Allison did an excellent job keeping the kids interested by making prairies really interesting. We've yet to come across a Ranger that wasn't just top notch. Maddie earned a badge AND a patch during this program.

The Fossil Walk turned out to be a Fossil "Talk" under the shade of a gazebo next to a fossil trail. Maddie said the most interesting thing she learned was that some of the species found in the area are the ancestors of today's domestic cats. I opted out of that one and did a little "planning" for the next few days in the AC.

Probably the biggest downfall of the heat was that we weren't able to do any of the hikes or climb on the formations. The Badlands is what is called an "open park" so you can go and do whatever you would like. Maddie would have loved to practice her mountain goat techniques and I'm sure the hikes would have been well worth it. I guess someday we'll just have to get back and do it.

Next, we were off to Deadwood. An old western town developed during the gold rush and known now for low stakes gambling. The entire town is on the historic register and it is the final resting place for Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane. It was about a 3 hour drive from the Badland's and we stayed at The Lodge at Deadwood.

The Lodge at Deadwood is a brand new hotel/casino/restaurant. They opened Dec. 2009. Our room was huge with 2 Queen beds and a roll-away couch. The pool was very nice for the 8 and under set. It was set up like the toddler area of a water park. Little slides, mushroom fountains and lily pads. The deepest spot was 3'6". Maddie had fun with the lily pads. The hot tub was huge but out of service. They seem to be working out some of the kinks in the hotel - including their alleged wi-fi. But for us, it was a good location and a wonderful treat after my version of roughing it in the Badlands.

We missed the gunfights on the streets downtown but had dinner at Diamond Lil's. It was kind of a shrine to Kevin Costner. They had many of his costumes from all his movies. Dances with Wolves was filmed in the area and he is still fond of the area. The food was very average, buffalo burgers and a regular burger. We probably wouldn't recommend it unless you are a huge Kevin Costner fan.

Monday we'll go a little farther west and travel to Wyoming - Yee Ha!

The Corn Palace and Beyond!

(Not surprisingly, internet service is a little sketchy out here, so my posts may be a little less than timely. My apologies. Anyway...)

We're off to the Corn Palace! Definitely stop-worthy. Not the Taj Majal, but they sure tried. We met Cornelius the mascot and saw the movie on why it is there – they were in a battle with the nearby town of Plankinton who were erecting a Grain Palace in the late 1800's and the Mitchell-ite's were not going to be outdone. And apparently they weren't - because 100 years later there's a big shiny Cabela's at the Mitchell exit and bupkis at the Plankinton exit. Take that Palace O'Grain!

We spent about an hour at the Palace and had a great lunch at Teresa's Cafe. Teresa's was quite a hip oasis in this cowboy/western town and the frozen lemonade and chicken salad was delicious. We highly recommend it and it's on Facebook.

We did stop by the Cabela's because the were hosting a Quick-Draw Pistol competition, (and also because it was Cabela's). It appeared to be a national competition and they were indeed quick. I honestly couldn't tell if the shooters were in costume or they just always dressed like old west gunslingers. The women were dressed a little less flamboyantly except for one who looked like Mae West with a gun – not a good look in 100 degree heat.

Next, about a 3 hour trip to the Badlands area. First, we made a trip to the Minuteman Missile Launch Site. It is one of the newest National Historic Sites and was semi-interesting. They had a good movie for kids which explained the Cold War and why we had these missiles placed all over the West and a Jr. Ranger Program. Maddie got her picture taken with both Rangers - apparently a first, very exciting. We then made the short drive over to the actual Missile Silo. There wasn't a lot there, but there was an actual missile in the ground - viewed through a lovely skylight. They were not able to do a tour that day or else we would have been able to take the elevator down. That would have been cool, but it was still neat to see.

We decided to stop at Wall Drug before going into the Badlands Park. That turned out to be a good idea, because Wall Drug was as kitschy and commercial as promised but it was a fun stop. However, it really would have looked silly in comparison the the Badlands, so we're happy we did it first. Maddie got a cowboy hat, (green of course), and we picked up some homemade doughnuts for Sunday's breakfast – they were quite good. Maddie is still searchin for a real-live Jack-a-Lope.

Then we were off to the Badlands where we were staying for the night. Right past both Main Entrances to the park are scenic overlooks and they are both just spectacular. Driving in you see some of the formations in the distance but it's a very boring drive overall, so to pull in and see this incredible panorama of shape and color as far as the eye can see is overwhelming. The first sight of it doesn't even look real. We stopped at some more outlooks on the way to Cedar Lodge. We saw the prairie dog town and a big horn sheep and her baby. Half of the Badlands are prairie so we were going through a lot of that too. It was a fun loop.

We got to our cabin which was tiny, but had a bathroom and as they say, location, location, location. There are not many lodging options in or around the Badlands. Cedar Pass has these cabins and a campground. It's worth it to stay, because anything else would be a really long drive and not much better unless you drove over from Rapid City, which is about a 2 hour drive. Book these cabins early. There are only about 30. As tiny and as old as these cabins are, (at least 50 years old by my guess), they were immaculately clean. There was not a speck of dust or grime. John thought he'd lost his wedding ring and we searched the room high and low. Even around the beds and chairs were spotless. (John found his ring in his wallet, so we're still married.)

The lodge has a restaurant which was fine. Nice servers and simple food and frankly, no other options. By our third meal we were ready for a change, but grateful it was available. After dinner we were off to the Ranger led Night Sky Program. Now, I was very excited for this and went on and on to Maddie about all the stars and galaxies she was going to get to see. She's a city girl who is out like a light by 9p.m. most nights – she's only rarely seen fireworks, so this was going to be awesome. Well....it was a beautiful night, with just a few clouds and a big, brilliantly white moon to light up the entire sky. I think the Ranger was more disappointed than I was. All we could see was the big dipper and Mercury – and a beautiful moon! Oh well, we were definitely ready for bed. Sunday – more Badlands!

We Made It!

We made it to lovely Sioux Falls, SD at 7:15 p.m. CST on Friday. We did pretty well - we were on the highway by 7:30 a.m. EST. We survived Chicago's rush hour, (bad planning on my part - we could have slept in another hour, or I suppose gotten up an hour earlier - nah!), and stopped in the Wisconsin Dells for lunch.

We saw a sign for "Buffalo Phil's" that advertised a train brought your food to your table and decided to try it. It was a huge place all buffalo-ed out and the train was cute. It was a little Lionel that made a loop through a kitchen area and did indeed stop at tables. We skipped the half hour wait for one of those tables and just watched. The food was pretty bland, but they did have a pizza and pasta buffet which we probably should have done instead.

The restaurant was right next to an outlet mall. In the hope of finding a Columbia outlet with a sunblocker shirt for Maddie we made a side trip. It was an excellent outlet that was designed to feel like you were outdoors but was covered with a vaulted ceiling and would have been very comfortable in the winter. No luck with a shirt but would be worth a trip if you were in the Dells for the weekend. Speaking of which - driving past the Kalahari and Great Wolf Lodge waterparks may not have been the kindest thing to do to Maddie. She wasn't quite sure why we were about to drive 10 more hours when we were already in such an awesome place. Ahhh, wait until she gets to the Badlands in 100 degree weather and no pool - she will be so happy with her mother!

The drive from there was boring but smooth. There is nothing, but corn in Minnesota along I-90 the whole way to South Dakota. (Whoops, John just reminded me there was a Deke Slayton Bicycle Museum, silly me. We didn't stop.) The good news was it made reaching Sioux Falls really exciting. We went straight to Falls Park and it was just lovely, (Thank you Melissa H.!)

We could walk all over the rocks and the park had overlooks and paths all through it so there were excellent and unique views of the falls everywhere you went. The visitor's center had a huge viewing tower about 5 stories tall that was very well maintained. We spent just over an hour exploring. They were gearing up for a light and music show they do all summer, (compliments of Wells Fargo, thank you Kristin!), but we were to hungry and tired to stay.

There was a cool looking restaurant in an old building overlooking the falls that would have been perfect. Unfortunately they keep erratic hours, but are always closed by 8. We agreed Silver Beach Pizza needs to expand!

So we dined at Fuddrucker's and stayed at the Quality Inn and Suites. Very nice king suite with sofa bed, continental breakfast and a small but immaculate pool.

Saturday we are off to the Corn Palace and beyond arriving at the Badlands in the late afternoon. Hopefully by then I will figure out how to post pictures!