B is for Badlands

The best advice I ever got was, “Don’t base your decision on the money.”

I was living in Delaware, agonizing over getting to two milestone events for two godchildren in separate states, two weeks apart. I’d done the math, and technically, getting on a plane to the first location, flying home for the intervening weeks, and flying to the next destination for the second event was financially reasonable. But I wanted a road-trip.

I did the math on the road trip and it was significantly more expensive than flying cross-country twice – first to Kansas City then to Detroit – even including car rental. Gas, lodging, meals, campsites… Could I afford it? Yes, but it would leave my bank account slightly anemic.

“Don’t base your decision on the money.”

I took the road-trip.

I drove, with several stops and visits, to the first event over near Kansas City, spent a couple nights, and headed north. Through Iowa, to South Dakota. Crossing the great prairies. Beautiful.

Some people go to South Dakota to see Mt. Rushmore. We did that when I was about seven, and during that trip we drove through the Badlands of South Dakota. Drove through, didn’t stop. It captured my imagination. This is the coolest  landform I have ever witnessed in all my travels around the world!

At seven years old, I couldn't stop the family vacation, but this road-trip was ALL MINE! I camped there for two nights.

Arriving in the evening, I set up camp as the sun set. Very windy on the Great Plains. I feel like a master-camper just for getting my tent up and secure in that wind, by myself!

The next day I hiked. And hiked. I packed my backpack with water, granola bars, trail mix, donned my hiking boots and bandana and chose the longest hike I could that didn’t require special equipment. 

Near vertical climbs through crumbly, clay-ey, sedimentary rock formations, followed by a relatively level hike through (presumably) snake-filled prairie, past other rocky formations, and ultimately downward along a winding road. 

SO GLAD I took the road-trip instead of the cheaper short trips! 

I felt exhausted, exhilarated and hungry when I got back to camp. I ate something, relaxed, and took another, shorter hike near the campground before bed.

In the morning, I packed up, and visited some of the other short “hike to see the view” spots that I passed while taking the long way out of the park. 

I would love to go back. I would love to take Brett and show him this favorite place of mine, and see which completely different elements of the Badlands might catch his imagination! …But he hates camping. We’ll have to get an RV if I’m ever going to get him there.

Moral of the story: Don’t base your decision on the money!