June 16, 2013
Wall, South Dakota
I'm pretty sure that I could just get away with posting my pics of the day here and still have one of the coolest posts ever, but today really meant so much more to me then just seeing the incredible sights.
I woke up this morning at 6am to the sound of my motel under assault by ping-pong ball sized pieces of hail. Now I don't know what me, my bike and summer trips have to do with hail, but so far we're two for two! Running out to cover my bike, I came back in to discover my soaked sour mood and the forecast for today was more strong storms throughout the morning. Remembering my decision to play things a little more safely I choose to stay in the comfort of the motel for one more day because I could still stay on budget by preparing all my food. I'd check out Wall Drugs as planned, only I'd just take the Badlands loop and come back to my room after to rest my toe that was healing nicely and my soul which was taking a little bit longer in comfort.
Now at this point on the trip, my difficulties were really starting to get the better of me. I was getting sick of the endless fields, dodging rainstorms every other day, loosing the battle of my budget, and a few other minor annoyances that had all come together to leave me feeling pretty down as I started the day grounded due to the weather.
So after a relaxing morning of trying to stay positive (all the whole thinking its only been a week!) I finally made my way into town to check out the famous drug store that had grown into a tourist monstrosity dating all the way back to 1936.
Finding my way into the camping section I really wanted to find something to help one of my biggest problems with my setup right now. Packed to the brim I really only had space for two decent sized water bottles and I couldn't help but notice that if I was stuck for any amount of time (say a primitive camp sight in the Badlands?), I'd be out of water after the first cup of coffee. After searching around for a while I finally found it. Shown in the pic I mounted a bicycle pack with two water bottles to the front of my trunk. For only $16 I managed to double my water carrying capacity, create a little space to carry the bulky bike cover (which has proved its weight in gold this trip so far!), gave me an extra pocket to carry my bad weather clothes in, and a handy little front pocket easily accessible for small tools and whatnot. Needless to say I was pretty happy with the outcome, and could really feel the day starting to pick my spirits up.
Then a couple hours later I made my way sans gear to the Badlands National park highway loop. After paying $10 to get in I could feel my mood fading, but that's when they jumped up. The hills of the Badlands stretching on for endless miles mixing desolation with pure beauty and I was immediately speechless. As you'll see from my pics the views were out of this world showing a world full of nothing and everything all at the same time. I now see why some people hate them, but I loved every minute.
Parking the bike at almost every scenic view along the loop I took pic after pic in pure joy. I saw Bison, Prairie Dogs, hawks, and goats! The smile plastered on my face was truly glued to my face, and I remembered then why I was doing all of this.
For anyone who read my blog last summer you might remember the same thing happening to me when I hit mexico. I lost my motivation and started questioning myself, because after all adventure traveling isn't always a picnic. But as soon as I did I miraculously hit one of the coolest places of my trip. Well the same thing has happened again and boy am I thankful. Being on the road everyday isn't easy but its days like today that really remind me it's worth it. The funny thing I keep thinking is that if the Badlands, a place I had really not even heard too much about before was this incredible, what about all the other sites?
Anyway I'll be back on the road tomorrow going back to the plan of camping out in the Badlands trying to imagine what life would have been like out there for settlers in a much more primitive age. After a quick stop I'm re-energized and ready to rumble for a couple of easy days of travel and sight seeing. The next few legs should be filled with some much needed excitement all relativity close together: The Badlands, Mount Rushmore, and then the great Yellowstone National park in only a few days. Fingers crossed that everything just keeps getting better from here!
