Mile: 5,678.9

The Badlands National Park was our first unscheduled stop of the trip. It wasn't too far from Mount Rushmore and since we finished there earlier than planned, we figured why not - we're only doing this once. None of us knew exactly what the Badlands were, so we weren't quite sure what we were going to see. Once we entered the park as far as your eyes could see was mostly flat land covered with vibrant green grass. The sun was starting to set so the lighting was perfect and while this was a beautiful change in scenery we couldn't help but wonder 'what are the badlands?' and 'is this it?'. We thought '22 miles of nothing? surely this can't be it'. Within a minute or so we were pleasantly surprised. 

The Badlands are a little hard to describe, but it kind of reminded me of the painted desert and a mini Grand Canyon except with more green. All of a sudden all you could see was peaks and valleys of banded colors along with buttes and wide prairies. We drove through the park and stopped at a just few scenic overlooks trying to make it to the visitors center at the other end of the road before they closed. Once we made it there we turned around and went back to some more scenic overlooks. Johnny got out his quad copter to do some filming, which basically required unpacking half the car to be able to get it out, and Jacob had his glidecam. There were no ropes or rails closing things off nor any signs that said stay off the rocks, etc so they took that to mean they could hike down and around in the canyons and valleys.  

We stayed until dark then we headed out for a long night of driving. After stopping to get a quick bite to eat and repack the camera gear we continued on. It wasn't far after that, that we hit 5,678.9 miles. In just a little over three weeks we've made it slightly more than half way (distance wise) on our trip. Sometimes it seems like we left home so long ago and have been gone for a while, but then we realize it's only been three weeks and there are still four more to go. Other times we can't believe it's already been three weeks and there is only four more left. We have greatly enjoyed the first part of our trip and are looking forward to what the second part holds. 

Next Stop: Fargo, ND

-Sarah

Here are a couple more photos from the Badlands: