Badlands, Dolts & Prairie Dogs

Today was a short 140 mile driving day through the Badlands and on to Mt. Rushmore. The Badlands just appear out of no where, at first just a backdrop to the gorgeous South Dakota grasslands. (The ones that were boring to Bob...no trees.) You have to turn south off of Interstate 90 to actually get into them. Their coloring is so starkly different from the grass that it's shocking to your eyes. The hues that you see range from a sandy beige (the most prevalent color) to soft yellow to startling orange. And the formations are innumerable. There are deep chasms reminiscent of the Grand Canyon. Then there are soft mounds resting quietly next flat ridges stretching as far as you can see lying next to conical hills jutting up toward the sky. Looking at these eroded land formations can be a bit like looking up at the clouds in search of shapes we recognize. The best shape we found was what appeared to be a three foot tall prairie dog standing on the tipity top of a massive conical shaped hill. Perhaps he was the sentinel dog encouraging us to head to Robert's Prairie Dog Town.

In the beginning of our Badlands drive (about 30 miles) we stopped at each of the Scenic View stopping spots. The first of these had a boardwalk beside which there were fossils (re-creations) typical of what has been found here. Now any dolt could figure out that if there is a boardwalk, probably you are supposed to actually walk on it. Any dolt who can read would be able to learn that they really don't want you walking anywhere off of the boardwalk. So when the parents of three pre-teen kids watched benignly as their little cherubs scampered all over the hills and ridges next the the boardwalk, the Tenges family was experiencing a communal blood boil. We were at the left end of the boardwalk loop. The Scamper family was at the right end of the loop. By the time that the Tenges family got to the half way point of viewing the fossils, the Scamper family was still at the beginning point of the right side as the children scrabbled and scraped and slid around on the tops of the not-so-tall formations in this area. Those of you who know me will be able to predict what Mrs. Tenges did next. The good thing is that having half of the boardwalk between me and the Scamper parents I was able to consider the WWJD? principle: What would Jesus do? I had just enough time to formulate my query as to whether they were aware that people were supposed to stay on the boardwalk in this area AND to make sure my tone was not seething with contempt for their stupidity. Mission accomplished. They claimed they were unaware; gathered their herd; hopped into their car and drove away. :->

After the Scamper family departed us we had an enjoyable time finishing our fossil study. Then we used the cross walk across from the right side of boardwalk to get to the other side of the street where we could roam and climb freely. Some people are just dolts!

The interesting thing about seeing amazing sights is that after a pretty short time they become less exceptional, more regular, more predictable...and so we stopped stopping at the the turn out points; content to simply look out the window as the amazing sites passed by. Toward the end of this Scenic Byway we had an opportunity to turn off the main road and make our way by dirt road to Robert's Prairie Dog Town. And since the Cozy Den is not a Tenges owned vehicle, dirt road driving was A-Ok with Mr. T. So we headed on to check out the prairie dogs. They are funny little creatures, each with their own mound (about 3 feet in diameter and 6-8 inches tall). It's funny to imagine these territorial little critters having a happy little two or three room prairie dog condo just beneath their hole. Of course we all know that it's a mind boggling labyrinth below with tunnels and turnouts that all connect below these little mounds. You have to stay on the road and not go out into the fields where these mounds are located, but one of these mounds was fairly close to the road so I was able to get close it. Close enough to get barked at by a prairie dog--the highlight of my day to that point. He or she was an insistent little cuss. As he barked, other little prairie dogs went onto high alert, their little 3 inch tails sticking straight up and quivering so fast that they were a blur.

Okie dokie, I'm not caught up yet, but it's time to go eat my fill of our $2 for all-can-eat pancakes.

Ciao, Becky