Thankfully I entered South Dakota in a better mood. I had another couchsurf arranged, I arrived, all was good. This host was a lot different than the first, in neither a good or a bad way. It just made it clear to me right away that this couchsurfing thing was going to be interesting, and that I was going to meet a huge variety of people before I'm done.
Not a lot of words, I guess. I was in a better mood and starting to have a better idea of how to plan and execute everything. But, uh, here are some pictures!
The Corn Palace is about half-way across the state -- which is nice, because it broke up the monotonous drive across South Dakota, where there isn't a whole lot of variety or things to see -- and it is lie the definition of a tourist trap. But it was cool.
And when I came around the corner I saw a basset hound and a smile instantly cracked and I snuck a picture or two then approached. Unfortunately she was very shy and didn't really let me pet her (I snuck an ear-rub), but I talked to her people for a few minutes, and it was nice.
The Corn Palace
OK, yeah, the Badlands were amazing. On one of the many signs somewhere in the park there was a quote that summed it up pretty well. Paraphrased, It's an implausible place. It looks like a setting from science fiction.
I started to experience many instances of literally having my breath taken from me, just with the awe of what was in front of me. That some place like this could exist. And I've experienced it several times since, and probably will continue to.
Badlands National Park
My "camping" experience there was a story all its own, which I might sum up another time (don't feel like typing it out right now). I had intended on staying two nights, but by early afternoon on the second day felt like it was time to move on. Unfortunately I didn't make a good plan to explore the Black Hills area, but I did make a couple cool stops.
I ended up taking a long gravel road most of the way from the Badlands to the Black Hills, and felt pretty stupid for it. Bad planning, as per usual. Thankfully it wasn't too bumpy, but I don't really want to find myself on a long stretch of dirt road in the middle of nowhere all by myself again.
Wind Cave was cool. I had never been in a cave before, and it was a neat experience. It was kind of on a whim that I decided to go, and had to pay for a tour, but whatever. The tour guide was knowledgeable and you could tell passionate, and probably not an inch over five feet. (She was constantly telling us "It's really low here, be careful," while not even having to duck herself.)
I also, kind of, sort of, not really bumped into people I also kind of bumped into at the Corn Palace the day before. Again, maybe another story for another day.
Wind Cave National Park
(If this album isn't embedded -- it's being difficult -- try this.)
From Wind Cave, through the Black Hills, to Rapid City was a nice drive. Hilly and scenic. I decided not to stop at Rushmore, because 10 dollar just to park? No thanks. And then shortly past there the weather got really weird. Going into Rapid City I basically drove a semi-circle around a rain storm that at any moment looked as if it could go full tornado or something. It was freaky, but beautiful. In the "assorted" album above you can see a few pictures, but they don't really convey what it looked or felt like.
My host there was cool, someone I feel like I would have been friends with (or at least known in the same circle of people) if she lived in TC. A plant biologist that actually works for the NPS.
While in Rapid City I did make one trip into the town, and they had a few pieces of the Berlin Wall, which was totally random, but neat. And while in that park someone with tattoos on his face approached me way too close for comfort and just said "What's up bro?" as he walked past. It was broad daylight. Just ... weird. So I kind of kept a wide berth from everyone else for the rest of that walk.
From there I went to Billings, MT. Cool, right?
No comments:
Post a Comment