After our stay in Indiana, our first stop was an overnight in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. We had made great time in driving so we had a few extra hours to spare after we checked into our hotel. What was meant to be just an overnight place to sleep before we moved on turned into a fantastic side adventure. We found the main park in Sioux Falls which was indeed the falls of the Big Sioux River and also home of the ruins of the Queen Bee Mill. It was the perfect place to take a walk and enjoy being outside after being stuck in the car all day.
We then set out to find a place to eat. We were surprised by the downtown revival that was happening in Sioux Falls and there were plenty of fabulous looking restaurants to choose from-- not at all what we were expecting! We found a place called JL Beers which seems to be a very small local South Dakota franchise. We had great burgers and got the chance to try a flight of beer that included all beer from Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota and the like-- nothing that we'd had before.The next morning, we moved onward. We stopped briefly at a Missouri River overlook near Chamberlain, South Dakota before moving on to our first National Park stop.
As we drove toward Badlands National Park, we were greeted by flatter grasslands. Seeing the arrival of the Badlands is incredible. The Badlands have been formed over years of erosion where a lake bed once nested. As you arrive, you're amidst grasslands and suddenly see a huge drop in the land where the Badlands are carved out.
We spent about two hours hiking on two separate trails, but spent the rest of the day on a scenic drive through the park, stopping at points of interest. Having been here three times now, I have to admit that this is the only way to do the park and survive. They aren't called the Badlands for any old reason-- they're truly bad. And on the day we visited, it was a whopping 107 degrees. I am still in awe of how harsh this land is and how immense its formations are. Just take this photo for example-- can you spot Andrew on our hike?
The change of colors and shapes within the formations are incredible as well.
We also had our first wildlife sightings in the Badlands. Last time I had visited I was lucky to spot two big horn sheep climbing in the craggy rock in the distance, but this time we were even luckier to see a group of them munching on the grass by the side of the road. And there were lots of little baby big horns too!
Andrew spotted a bison in the distance-- the first he'd ever seen in the wild (I'll save the bison photos for Yellowstone as we have a pretty fantastic story to go along with the bison we saw there). And of course, the prairie dogs were everywhere.
True story-- there is a reason for the Bruce Hornsby song Prairie Dog Town. Only someone who has visited the Badlands would fully understand.Needless to say, after our Badlands adventure we headed on to the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota. More on that next!