And Then a Buffalo Came to Breakfast...

It’s 102 degrees outside right now, and I am sitting outside. It’s hot!!! This is not the focus of the post, though it’s good context, at least in my warm mind. 

This is our fourth day in Badlands National Park in South Dakota. I’ve driven by it a number of times (it’s south of I-90) but never stopped. It’s well worth the time. We rather enjoy the stark beauty of badlands, and while these aren’t as colorful as others we’ve encountered their scale is unbelievable.

Our first two nights were spent at Sage Creek, which is a designated camping area seemingly without any rules or regs or park service personnel. First come, first to snag a picnic table, then it’s a battle for every inch of grass! When we pulled in, an old-timer named Jerry from San Diego came out of his new Sprinter to greet us. He spends at least a week in the Badlands every year. Funny old guy. He was in the process of outfitting his new rig, sewing a bed or something. We didn’t see much of him after that. I love the characters out here, but then I guess we’re part of the character landscape as well. 

We were also welcomed by two-striped grasshoppers occupying every other blade of grass! I have no idea when the last time was that I saw a grasshopper, let alone so darn many. When I looked down at the ground, it seemed to be moving in a mysterious way and when I’d walk through the grass, they’d hop and fly in every direction. They were fascinating and entertaining.

As dusk settled in on the first night, a buffalo came wandering by on the other side of camp. People grabbed their cameras and run-walked towards it. We watched with our binoculars. I am always surprised when people seem to lose all of their senses when an animal appears, forgetting that they are in the wild rather than a zoo, and approach wildlife so closely. Great photo for Facebook, maybe. Or fodder for Facebook if you are gored! He ambled on by and went into the hills for the night. 

The next morning, we were sitting out at our picnic table, eating cereal and talking about the coyotes we heard close to camp in the wee hours of the morning when all of a sudden, not twenty feet away, a buffalo ambled out from behind the Minnie. Stunned, I looked over at Alanna who also had a look of wild astonishment on her face. We didn’t say anything, just looked back at the bison who was looking at us. Then Alanna crept to the RV, five feet away, grabbed her camera and got a decent shot. It was really exciting, and a little scary. Glad he was just doing his own thing and could have cared less about us! 

We did some hiking out in the Sage Creek Wilderness Area, but kept it limited. There are no designated trails and once a buffalo trail runs out, we were pretty much bushwhacking, and looking out for rattlesnakes. 

After two peaceful nights at Sage Creek, we headed up to Cedar Pass, the developed campground so that we could hike the trails around this end of the park.We hit the trail early this morning, 7:30 am, in order to do a longer hike on the Castle Trail.  We know enough to know that in this heat, I melt, and quickly. I’m glad we got up—the hike was an excellent one, and true to its name, it looked and felt like we were walking through drip sand castles. I was glad we finished before eleven—the last 30 minutes were a slog for me. Did I mention it’s over 100 degrees out? Thank goodness, no humidity.

To combat the heat, we drove to Wall. Yes, we went to Wall Drug, a bastion of tourist-trap Americana, that’s advertised for a hundred miles. Finally, Wall Drug. Never again. Too many people. Too many trinkets. And mediocre ice cream. The bulk of our time in town was spent in the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands Visitor’s Center (air-conditioned!). During our hike this morning, we became more interested in learning about the grasslands as we spent part of our time walking through Buffalo Gap. Good stuff and really nice people working for the Forest Service. I was bummed, though, that the Wounded Knee Museum was closed for the season. This was one I’d been looking forward to for the last few weeks. 

Now, I sit, and read, and nap, and towel off. We are not, as of yet, generator running folks who want to sit inside with the AC running. That could change. One never knows. I doubt it though. We are enjoying being out, even in 100 degree weather.