Lo and behold in the middle of nowhere there’s an open wifi point at the Badlands visitor center.
Day 5 was pretty much just a travel day. I drove across Minnesota and 2/3 of South Dakota. Basically, the middle of nowhere. Minnesota has tons of wind farms. I must have seen several hundred wind turbines. Pretty amazing site. Before nightfall I arrived in Wall, SD and found a nice camp ground called Sleepy Hollow. It’s not that sleepy though… at 5:30 in the morning a train went past about 30 yards away. That was loud.
So today I have been touring the Badlands. They are awesome! I hiked over 10 miles. My feet are pretty tired now, but I feel great to have accomplished it. I’ve taken photos and video. No new photos will be uploaded until I’m in Denver most likely. I barely have any semblance of cell phone service way out here. It’s enough for text messaging and short phone calls, but I don’t even have EDGE wireless access out here even in “town”.
I will sleep again tonight at Sleepy Hollow. I’m in Mountain Time and it’s 5:30PM here. I’ve worked up quite an appetite with all my hiking. I think I’ve earned going out to dinner tonight.
I bought my National Parks pass and I definitely plan on getting my $80 worth. 1 year access to all National Parks and National Forests.
Anyway, I had to take advantage of this random wifi access point. Good thing my phone continually scans for wireless networks and let me know there was one here. 🙂
Tomorrow: pack up camp, head to Rapid City, SD, tour the Black Hills and Mount Rushmore. Then camp somewhere between there and Denver. Sunday: Get to Denver fairly early… AND I get to meet up with a friend who will get to share these amazing adventures with me! I’m looking forward to having some company on this trip.
Dave
Great pics of the Badlands. Appropriately named place.