Badlands, SD, to Rocky Mountain National Park, CO

 Sunday 9/21/14  -  Badlands, South Dakota

We head east from Rapid City to the Badlands of South Dakota.  At the turnoff to Hwy 240 we see a sign, "Minuteman Missile National Historic Site" and turn into the parking lot.  We watch an eerie film about the Minuteman Missile installations during the Cold War, two men below ground each with a special key to launch a nuclear missile. 

We step outside and gaze upon flat pastureland as far as the eye can see. It's difficult to imagine a nuclear warhead missile shooting out of the ground in this peaceful little town.

We continue our journey down Hwy 240, "Badlands Loop Road", and soon we see our first view of this formidable land.

 

 

Badlands National Park comprises 244,000 acres and provides a unique geology of impressive buttes, pinnacles and grassland prairie for an assortment of wildlife.  Standing at the first view point we look for miles and miles and see no sign of civilization - except, of course, the other tourists sharing the view point.  Fortunately, on this day there are very few tourists.

 

 

 
The Badlands is home to coyotes, porcupines, big horn sheep, bobcats, black-tailed prairie dogs, black-footed ferrets, rattlesnakes, swift fox, and American bison.

 

Prairie Dog Town

We stop at the Visitor Center to watch a short film and I get my Passport stamped.  A brochure says it takes one hour to drive through the park and we take three.



 

The sun is setting as we leave the park and start looking for a campsite.  We find a KOA, crack open a can of soup and call it a night.

 

Monday, 9/22/14  -  Bear Country USA

Fred's back has flared up and we hang out at the campground for a while.  We find a local chiropractor and wait around for his 2:30 appointment.  We've accepted the fact we will not be driving very far this day.

             

 
After the chiropractor, Fred decides he wants to visit Bear Country USA.  He's not feeling a whole lot better but the wildlife animal park is a drive-thru and he doesn't have to do any walking.

 

 

Aha, they have a wheel chair at the Visitor Center so we can stroll down to see the baby bears.  They are adorable and make us chuckle. 

The wildlife park provides spacious areas in which the various animals can roam, but it is still a type of zoo and kind of depressing to think of the animals as being "locked up" so to speak. I think some of the bears look a little sad, or is that just my imagination?  Maybe we'll rethink going to "wild" animal parks in the future. 

It's late so we leave Bear Country USA and stop at the nearest RV park.  A light rain is falling.

Tuesday, 9/23/14  -  Custer State Park, SD

We head south on Highway 79 toward Custer State Park.  Comprised of 71,000 acres, the park contains one of the nation's largest free roaming buffalo herds.  There are big white clouds and lots of blue sky overhead as we enter the park.

             

A friendly woman at the Visitor Center gives us a map and points out the "Wildlife Loop".

 



We drive a few miles along the loop and see only a few deer.  We begin to voice our fear that all the buffalo in the park may have been herded to a different part of the park in anticipation of the big "Buffalo Roundup" the following Friday.

We continue driving when suddenly around a curve we come upon a huge buffalo herd.  Several are taking dust baths.

 

We are excited to see the fall colors mixed with the glow of evening light as the herd trudges through the dry grass.

We leave the buffalo herd behind as we exit the park and eventually drive across the state line into Nebraska.   We come to the decision that Montana has some competition here for "Big Sky" country.

Big Sky Nebraska

We are heading for the town of Alliance, NB, for a visit to something called "Carhenge", a replica of Stonehenge, but made out of automobiles.  I mean, only the "Largest Ball of String in the World" could be more intriguing.  We just have to see this.  Along the way we pass a whimsical rest stop. 

 
Carhenge is more than we ever dreamed or imagined.  It is free to the public and is a well maintained site that is surrounded by a corn field.  Believe it or not, the place actually has a kind of magical quality.  We both comment on what a really cool place this is.

 

We spend 45 minutes looking for a campground in Alliance and finally come upon "J & C Lawn Service and RV Park".  Sid, the yellow lab, greets us.   We set up camp and sit outside and watch the trucks speed by on the highway as the sun begins to set.

 

The owner of the campground stops by to visit and fills us in on some Alliance history.  Once upon a time, Alliance was all about Big Cattle.  Today it's all about feedlots and farming:  sugar beets, wheat, potatoes, beans and corn.  The railroad used to haul cattle to the big markets, but now hauls coal and oil from North Dakota.  We want to talk longer, but the wife calls him in to dinner.  They're having company and she's made an apple crisp for dessert.

We fall asleep to the sound of trains and trucks.

Wednesday, 9/24/14  -  Chimney Rock and Scott's Bluff

It's morning and we take Highway 385 toward Colorado and Rocky Mountain National Park.  We have planned a couple stops along the way:  Chimney Rock and Scott's Bluff.

We drive through the city of Bridgeport, NB, on the Platte River.  Come to find out it's called the "Trail City" because it is the historic site of four famous trails:  the Mormon Trail, California Trail, Oregon Trail and the Pony Express.  All of which once followed the meanderings of the Platte River.
                           

Platte River, NB

We take a side trip to Chimney Rock, an important landmark for the Oregon Trail pioneers.  This was a stopping point after over 600 miles of monotonous prairie, traveling only an average of 15 miles per day.  One pioneer woman wrote, "I wish Indians would attack us I'm so bored."

We stop to check out a museum called "Legacy of the Plains".  It is being remodeled and is kind of disorganized, but it has big plans for the future.  Fred's back is still giving him problems and he grabs a helpful chair.  We make a quick visit and continue down the Oregon Trail.

Legacy of The Plains Museum

 

The other important landmark at this junction is Scott's Bluff.  Pioneers passing this bluff knew they had reached an important milestone on the Oregon Trail.  We watch a film at the Visitor's Center that describes the wagon trains and the trail they left behind as the reality of their journey began to sink in. 

The trail became littered with items discarded as useless and burdensome (pianos, spinning wheels, books, furniture, etc.) often left with signs stating, "Use what you want or leave for others."  Books would be read and then left along the trail for others to read.  A sadder sign left along the trail route were the carcasses of animals who succumbed to disease or the harsh realities of being a pack animal. 

View from the top of Scott's Bluff

We follow the Oregon Trail along Highway 92, past Scott's Bluff, thinking about the pioneers, their dreams, their hopes, and all the challenges they encountered on their long journey.

 Like the pioneers, we are travel weary also, and decide to find a cozy room for the night.  We find a room at the Best Western in Cheyenne, WY, and the clerk tells us we got the last room available.  Evidently there is an oil boom in Cheyenne and rooms are scarce.  We are happy to have a room to stretch out in, especially since Fred's sciatica is still giving him problems.  Are we getting too old for this?  No, we say.

Thursday, 9/25/14  -  Rocky Mountain National Park

We cross the border into Colorado, heading for Rocky Mountain National Park.  The highway climbs up onto a high plateau and we are surrounded by brown prairie grass.  Suddenly a pebble hits our windshield, kicked up by a passing semi-truck.  We are suddenly disheartened until we remember one of my father's favorite sayings, "Well, if that's the worst thing that ever happens to us."
            

 

We reach the foothills of the Rockies and climb higher and higher as we approach Rocky Mountain National Park.  Tall trees line the road, so thick you can't see through them.  Suddenly autumn colors begin to appear.

As we reach a summit, several big horn sheep cause a traffic jam.  Cars and tourists are everywhere.   

 

 

The sun is falling behind the mountains as we luck upon a campsite at Timber Creek Campground.  Our neighbors are Mark and Ranita Schoenbaum and we discover they, too, share a love of VW vans.  He shows us a photo of his '84 VW Weekender and we give them a tour of our '86 VW Westfalia.  Later we swap camping stories as we warm ourselves by the campfire.

 

Friday, 9/26/14  -  Last Day

I'm thinking this will be the last day of this blog (or maybe not) as we leave Rocky Mountain National Park and wind our way down the mountains, slowing down for 20 mph curves.  We are becoming road weary from the never ending twists and turns, the thick forests and the ups and downs of mountain after mountain.  Rocky Mountain National Park was more than we bargained for and we realize our error:  we should have allowed more time to fully enjoy and appreciate the immensity of this national park. 

As we leave the park the reality of heading home strikes us.  We feel the familiar tug of the heading-home-blues.  We want to continue the adventure and travel to parts unknown.  But in spite of that, we are relieved to reach the open highway and begin our long journey home.


  Next:  We are home now, but I will be adding one last blog:  A visit with family in Farwell, Texas, and a side trip to Rainbow Basin Natural Area in Barstow, CA...and then home!