The Badlands National Park – NNs On the Wind

August 2, 2019August 10, 2019 Kathleen Ennen

AUG 1, 2019 – Interior, SD

After 3 nights in one spot for a nice change, we left Heartland RV and Cabins Campground in Hermosa, SD, we headed east to Interior, SD to see the Badlands National Park. On approach we could see the change in topography and landforms. Fascinating.

We went to the park’s visitor center for a great introduction to this park. It’s unique in that the entire area, formed 500,000+ years, is of very soft sand/mineral deposits from the Great Inland Sea and is very quickly eroding away, about an inch a year. Also it’s a great source of fossils with a great deal of international scientific interest. The visitor center has a fossil laboratory with active work in view.

We stopped at the local store. Not much, but lots of character and potted meats if you care for them.

AUG 2, 2019 – Arrow, SD

We left our quiet little campground, our first stop at a KOA site and headed to the scenic loop in the Badlands NP to Wall, SD. It was a first of many encounters in August with many, sometimes swarms, of mosquitoes. Seems it’s been very wet in this area and everyone is complaining about them.

The drive into and through the Badlands was an easy drive with a number of overlooks with vast views. Such a different landform.

We took the extension off the main road, onto a gravel road, to find the prairie dog town. Our first visit to one!!! Funny little chirping creatures. I enjoy their standup lookout pose. They scurry here and there but also will stop to see what you are doing. Some come very close to the road but no signs of their kin being roadkill.

We got back out to the main roads and were quickly in the tiny community of Wall. We visited the “famous” Wall Drug and are not sure what it’s all about. Currently there is a small café at one end, but for most of its block it’s selling lots of touristy stuff. I would say junk but that may be unkind. There is a small drug store component where I found something I’ve been looking for, and odd to find it here: a travel size (small) crystal deodorant stick. The one I have has broken several times and has still lasted more than a year. If I can keep from dropping this new one it should last several years!

We have traveled over the years and retired in 2017, when we started on a nine month long adventure departing in December 2017. In the past we’ve traveled to Sri Lanka, Africa (several times), Turkey, and made a number of trips to Europe, and St Lucia. Our 2015 trip to Turkey, took nearly 3 weeks to explore Istanbul, Cappadocia and the areas in proximity to Izmir.

This is a chronicle of our travels, past and present. We love to travel by trains, planes, ships, and cars – and love sailing whenever and wherever we can.

We retired from the US General Services Administration, the Federal Government’s landlord! Thom worked at planning and large scale program management of numerous projects and Kathleen, a registered professional civil engineer, was a project manager for many infrastructure and building renovation projects, including both design and construction aspects, in New England, Florida and the metro DC area. We lived in Washington DC for 12 years and upon retirement sold the house, putting a few things in a 5’x5’ storage unit and started traveling.

On return to the US in September 2018, after traveling to 21 countries, we bought a Class C RV – 2019 Thor Freedom Elite 24FE. We enjoyed our week long camping trip in New Zealand in a small converted van with few amenities, so this seemed liked a good way to tour the US. We hope to visit family along the way and as many US National Parks as possible.

UPDATE – the Covid pandemic made travel more difficult for us. We were abroad for several months when the pandemic started and returned to the US in July 2020. After several months in the RV to visit Utah and Albuquerque NM, we moved east, bought a house on the Northern Neck of Virginia, and sold the RV. For 2021 and 2022 we tended to our new house and cottage, gardens and various boats including a 18’ 1977 Marshall Sanderling catboat and a 25’ Steiger Craft Chesapeake fishing boat, and kayaks and a canoe. Hopefully travel will start again one day!!

May 2022