From Fort Pierre we travelled across the rolling green hills of the National Grassland towards the I90 with the Badlands National Park as our destination.
With ever worsening conditions on the freeway we debated whether to abandon our plans and turn back east.
During a potty break at Murdo, I randomly checked my iPad and found I had an Internet connection.
The weather forecast for Wall, near our destination, was for clearing conditions in two hours.
We decided to carry on.
As we arrived at the NP gates, the rain stopped!
But the wind didn’t.
When I got out at the first Badlands overlook I estimated the temperature to be below 0℃ with windchill and the occasional slap of sleet in the face confirmed that. The co driver stayed in the car!
This was my second trip here, the first many years ago being a quick drive around ‘the loop’. This time would be a lot slower.
What an amazing place.
We stopped at many overlooks, walked some boardwalks and then descended into the valley to the visitors centre.
The centre offers an indoor theater, interactive exhibits, an orientation film plus a bookstore.
The exhibits focus on the cultural history, prairie ecology, and paleontology of the Badlands.
There is a clear explanation of the deposition and erosion process that formed of the Badlands and began around 70 million years ago.
From there we drove through the canyons and then climbed back up to the prairie. We saw some wild life eg. prairie dogs and big horned sheep, but no bison.
Photos and videos don't do this area justice.
This is a bizarre place with an interesting history. Very popular with tourists and full of kitsch. We had lunch of buffalo hot dogs and fries at the 'intimate' 530 seat cafe.
Then it was east back down the I90 to Oacoma just across the Missouri from Chamberlain and Indian tacos for dinner (supper) at Al's Oasis.
Crossing the river next morning we visited the Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center which is committed to promoting the knowledge and understanding of the Northern Plains Indian.
The proper name for the people commonly known as the Sioux is Oceti Sakowin, (Och-et-eeshak-oh-win) meaning Seven Council Fires and here their culture past, present and future is presented through the preservation of historical artifacts and contemporary works of art.
This is a fine historical and cultural museum and worth a few hours.
Then, after a quilt shop visit it was up to the Missouri Overlook to check out the amazing sculpture Dignity, (a.k.a. Dignity of Earth & Sky).
The 15.24m (50ft) high stainless steel statue by South Dakota artist laureate Dale Lamphere depicts an indigenous woman in Plains-style dress receiving a star quilt. The Lone Star design (also called the Star of Bethlehem), is a variation on Morning Star designs that had been featured on Native American clothing and other items for centuries. According to Lamphere, the sculpture honors the culture of the Lakota and Dakota peoples who are indigenous to South Dakota.
Lamphere's latest project involves the construction of a sculpture, The Arc of Dreams that will span the Big Sioux River in downtown Sioux Falls. It was in the process of being erected the week we left.
From Chamberlain it was back to Sioux Falls via Mitchell (lunch at Culvers!) for our traditional SD date night.
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