Wednesday, July 20, 2011

The Badlands - South Dakota

Rolling…rolling…rolling. Keep those wagons rolling. After three days of travel (that started in Grapevine), we have finally made it to South Dakota. The Aces summer trip to escape the heat has begun - only we still have not escaped the heat.

Our first stop was in Interior, SD visiting the Badlands National Park. This is an outcropping of eroding rock which is in the middle of the prairie. And it is still very hot. On our first day in the Badlands, we drove through the park and also visited Wall, SD. The Wall Drug Store has put Wall, SD on the map. It gained fame when in 1932, they began giving away free ice water to the travelers as they crossed South Dakota - and they continue to do the same today.



The Badlands have a stark beauty. They are essentially impenetrable except for certain passes. Visiting areas like this can only remind us of the effort it took to travel across and settle this land.



The area was settled in the early 1900’s when settlers were given 160 acres to establish a homestead. We visited a sod house which was built by one of the original settlers. Though it is a rather messy building material, the sod did provide excellent insulation. Joseph thought that it wasn’t so bad, though I think that dirt floors and dirt walls are not exactly ideal.

The Badlands were once home to many now extinct mammals and fossils of camels, crocodiles, sabre-toothed cats and three-toed horses have been found there. One of today’s residents is the prairie dog. Though rather cute, they are very troublesome for anyone living with them.



We have moved on to the Black Hills. More on that later.

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