The Badlands - Part 2

As we rode along on I-90 going west we saw large pasturelands with some small groups of cattle grazing. Very few dwellings were visible from the road, once in a while a fenced pen or shed in the middle of the meadows. Then, we could see off to the south, our left, at ground level, clay colored bluffs starting out closer to us and gradually showing deeper and deeper and longer and longer. Just at the exit for Wall, SD, is the road leading to the Badlands National Park. Since we had seen the hundreds of billboards showing all the attractions at the Wall Drug Store, into town we went. The Griffins parked their RV at the truckstop right at the interstate and we went together in our Toyota. Wall is not big but there were many people walking the sidewalks and the parking lots were busy. We did the tourist thing, walked around most of the shops inside and across the back alley, all part of Wall Drug. Great place to drop a wad of dough. Skip it if you don't want to see every possible product for the gullible and weak of mind. We all agreed later we could have enjoyed ourselves more elsewhere. Leaving Wall and its glitz behind we went south to the entrance to the Badlands. Last month I had purchased a "Senior Pass" for National Parks, etc. With this card we all were admitted with no charge. Stopping at the first lookout was a "peak" experience. We looked out over a range of eroded valleys with steep sides.