Off to the (Not So) Badlands: Day Three: I Made It!

First stop on my way to Badlands National Park was Sioux Falls, SD, just over the line from Minnesota. There was a marine supply dealer there (are there lakes in South Dakota?), and I was hoping I could find a fuse for my DC to DC charger since it was a marine style fuse. I must’ve been their first (only?) customer of the day as they were very friendly and eager to serve me. The guy at the main desk in fact personally escorted me to the parts department. I proudly displayed my blown fuse and said, “I’m looking for one of these.” The parts department service guy went to check and soon returned with a box saying, “I have good news and bad news. We have the fuse, but the one we have is not blown like yours.” Funny…I guess that’s what happens when you’re the first customer of the day at a marine supply store in South Dakota.

I paid for the fuse (a bit more expensive than Amazon) and got back on I-90. The weather was much nicer than the day before…and much less windy. My travel time was a little over 4 hours, which again felt longer than that. There’s not a whole lot to look at along this route, though once I crossed the Missouri river, the topography got a little hillier (more hilly?). And, there were fewer cornfields. But there were still fields. And fields are fields.

Fields

This is pretty much the view for most of the trip

One bonus: Speed limit is 80 mph!! Though I couldn't quite bring myself to drive Ansel that fast.

The only thing of interest were the billboards. Most advertised tourist attractions (and thankfully not personal injury lawyers). Interestingly, most were low to the ground in contrast to billboards in the Midwest that are so high they could warrant aircraft warning lights. The most common were of course billboards for Wall Drug. Some of them look like they have been there for decades but still interesting. A close second were signs for the Firehouse Brewery in Rapid City, which claims to be the first craft brewery in South Dakota (you mean there’s another one?). What was amazing is that every one of their billboards had an old fire truck in front of it. I lost track, but there were at least 10 of these! What an investment. I’m sold: I need to visit!

I finally arrived at the National Park, and used my Senior Lifetime Pass to get in 😊. I drove the Badlands Loop, stopping only a few times for photos. My intent was simply to get a lay of the land and think about where I might want to shoot over the next few days. Bottom line: I have no idea where to start. This place is amazing, and there are endless possibilities! I guess I will just need to be flexible and go with the flow!

I drove into Wall, SD and paid a quick visit to Wall Drug. I’ll probably go back, but to be perfectly honest I was a bit underwhelmed.

I picked up a few items, including some beer and buffalo burgers, at the small local grocery, and headed to my campsite for the night on the Buffalo Gap National Grassland, which is run by the National Forest Service. It overlooks the badlands and is supposedly the 2^nd best boondocking (free) campsite in the U.S. (what’s #1, I wonder?). Lots of other RV-ers taking advantage of this spot. It’s truly amazing.