2008 Western Adventure

Day 9 - June 28, 2008

Only 130 miles to the Badlands....sounds easy...huh?   Well, it wasn't.  The winds today are worse than they were yesterday.  According to the locals, these high winds are not unusual.  I was really beat  up when I arrived at the Badlands and decided to get a hotel room if they had one.  Unfortunately, this is summer vacation time and all hotels in Medora where full.  Not to dampen my enthusiasm for doing the main loop of the Badlands NP, I figured that I'd get a hotel room in the next town, which is Beach.

I headed for the park entrance with my lifetime pass in hand.  The ranger at the gate was very friendly, which got my tour of the park off on the right foot.  Right away I knew my tour of the Badlands was going to be great.  The views were phenomenal.  The first critters that I saw were prairie dogs...tons of them.  I swear they were posing for the camera.  Then I saw some wild horses...they were beautiful specimens and even included a little one.  I got my photos and continued on.  Next was a large deer, which is unusual early in the afternoon.  Unfortunately, I didn't get my camera up fast enough to get a shot of her before she disappeared in the brush.  I waited for a while in hopes that she would reappear, but she must have heard of my reputation for hitting deer.

I was so hoping that I would spot one of the many herds of buffalo, but I didn't see a one in the 40 miles that I covered in the park.  I wasn't really disappointed, because I knew that I would have another chance when I hit the South Dakota Badlands.  I really don't know why the named it the Badlands, because I think every part of it is pure beauty.  If I wasn't a little bit about getting a room for the night, I would have explored some of the other roads.  I reluctantly finished my tour and headed on down the road.  The next town did have a couple of motels, but they were also full, so I had to head down the road to Glendive, Montana, about 30 more miles.  The first two motels that I stopped at were also full, but I did get a room at Days Inn.  I checked in and gathered all my dirty clothes and took off in search of a Laundromat.  While the clothes were getting clean I went next door to the local DQ and got a hot fudge sundae.  I figured I earned it. 

With the clothes taken care of, and my tummy full, I headed back to the hotel.