Badlands

My adventure to the Badlands began with the most brutal drive thus-far. 600 miles in a day seems daunting, so I opted to take it slow and see some small towns on Highway 14.  However, phone calls and excited conversation had other ideas.  After losing 14 I jumped on Interstate 90, driving about 15 mph below the speed limit infuriated a lot of individuals but 80 mph is far too fast! (Besides, it's a "limit" for a reason huh?)  I ended up staying at a rest area after 10 hours of driving to rest the eyes.  Woke up around 4:30 and began the last 100-mile stint to arrive at the Badlands.  Traveling west for the first time in my life always catches me off guard when the time change hits; thus my confusion when 4:30 rolled around again an hour into my drive.  This however, could not have timed more perfectly... I arrived to the Badlands in complete darkness, the new moon being the following day I couldn't even spot a waning crescent in the sky.  The sunrise revealed to me the alien landscape that so vividly gives one a look into the vastness that is time.  Sediment layers deposited over tens of millions of years followed by an equivalent time for erosion kind of shocks one into an infinitesimal mindset.  After sunrise I went into a town called Wall to restock and pick up a few supplies I had been wanting.  Once the slack-jawed drive through the extent of the park had come to completion I found my way to the hiking trails and spent some time re-organizing the truck at the base.  Hiking was a unique experience due to the ambiguity of man-made trails, rain-made trails, and goat-made trails.  I found myself at the summit before I had really realized I was cresting the ridge of the pass, awe struck by the fact that there was another side to the ridge (Duh.) I posted up and did a little whittling on the walking stick I picked up on Lake Superior. Stayed the first night at a campsite on the very western edge of the park.  This spot was particularly interesting due to the stark contrast in landscape; mostly plains and roaming buffalo along with a plethora of prairie dogs and yipping 'yotes.