We got up and left the cabin to take photos of the Badlands at around 5:30 AM. It was gorgeous out. Good light for photos, perfect temperature, and not crowded at all. But, who other than us would get up at that hour? Only a couple of people. When we lost the optimal early morning light, we headed back to the cabin to get ready for the day.
We took the Badlands Loop to see all that we could. It is so quiet and eerie, very surreal. Some folks backpack in the park, which I just can’t imagine. It seems so spooky, even in the daylight! But Hubby thinks it looks like fun. We enjoyed this natural wonder so much that we decided to detour and take in the Black Hills and Mt. Rushmore. I didn’t know South Dakota was so beautiful. Yesterday, as we rounded a bend, the most beautiful scene was right in front of us. We went from prairie to big lush, rolling hills that were on either side of the Missouri River. Now, being from Kansas City, I had never thought of the Missouri River as anything other than brown and yucky. What we saw in South Dakota was wide and blue. I couldn’t believe it was the same river! The lush hills looked like they would be soft and cushy to lie down on and take a nap.
The Black Hills did not disappoint either. I thought they would be similar to the Flint Hills, which I think are very pretty. They make the drive to Heaven, I mean Manhattan so pleasant. But, the Black Hills are more like mountains. They reminded us of the Smoky Mountains, without the kudzu. It rained on us, so we did not get to take any photos, but were glad we made the side trip. Mt. Rushmore was nice to see, but very touristy. We took a look at the old guys and then headed back on route to Montana. We had completely befuddled BB, our GPS. She had us taking a different highway from what our Streets and Trips software had shown and we were feeling adventurous, so we went with BB. Good plan! We saw old, old little towns, mostly mining towns. We saw some of the most amazing countryside. Western South Dakota and the little bit of Wyoming we saw had us slack-jawed. We didn’t even mind the 9 miles we had to drive on unpaved road! When they do highway improvements up here, apparently they just dig up the whole dang thing and start again!
Eastern Montana was very different from where we had been. The hills are filled with scrubby desert-y growth. The landscape was less inspiring, but beautiful in its own way.
As it was getting dark, we ran into some rain. Not bad, but slowed us down a little. We saw a gorgeous rainbow. I had never seen a rainbow where you could see through it. We saw houses tinted red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. It was like you were looking at the houses through a filter. Quite cool. We arrived at Belgrade, MT about 11:00 PM. We thought we could see mountains in the distance as we approached Bozeman and can’t wait to see it in the daylight.
Today’s drive should be should be shorter but just as pretty as what we saw early yesterday. It will be nice to get to the cabin, unload the car, and stay awhile.
Showing posts with label badlands. Show all posts
Showing posts with label badlands. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
From Home to Cedar Pass Cabins, Badlands National Park, South Dakota
As a part of preparing for our trip, we bathed and groomed Ruby the wonder dog yesterday. Because we have heard that the mosquitoes in northwest Montana eat small dogs for dinner, we decided she should have her first Frontline treatment of the summer. I went to the local Petco to make the purchase, but was surprised to see that it is akin to liquid gold, selling for a little over $60. Okay, so I am thinking…that is the price of a tank of gas for the Escape and we will be using significant amounts of the stuff on this trip. Opting for the $20 treatment wouldn’t be so bad, would it? The worst that could happen is that is doesn’t work very well and we have to get something else in Big Sky country. Sigh. That is not the worst that can happen. Within an hour, RTWD (Ruby the wonder dog) was very agitated, panting, and pacing. At first I just thought she didn’t like the icky feel of the treatment stuff we put on her back. This went on for awhile, when she looked up at me and with pleading puppy dog eyes seemed to say, “Mom! Do something!” I gave her a second bath for the day and she has never seemed to enjoy a bath so much. After about another hour, her condition hadn’t changed. Kile googled (I just love that noun/verb word!) the offending substance, sold as Sentry Pro, and found that many people have had the same trouble or worse. Benedryl was recommended and between that and me holding her, she could relax for brief periods of time. After another dose at bedtime, we went to bed to get a good night’s sleep. Two hours later, she finally dozed off and slept the rest of the night. This morning she was good as new. But we were exhausted!
We slept later than we had planned, but after the rough night we needed the sleep. We got up, finished packing, and loaded the car. After a quick stop at the bank, we hit the road at…11:10. Oh well, we are on vacation and aren’t going to get our panties/boxers in a bunch over the late start. As soon as we left the bank parking lot, I mentioned that now I was hungry which was met with guffaws from Hubby. I think he was reminded of a trip to Colorado when the boys were little and announced they wanted a snack before we were ever on the highway. Snacking in the car is an important part of our road trips. Planning the snacks takes almost as much time as planning our route!
We finally did have lunch somewhere in Missouri, near the exit to Rulo, NE. It was a beautiful day for traveling. The temperature was probably in the low to mid 80s all day. The sky was a beautiful blue, dotted with cottonball clouds. Late in the afternoon, we tired of the same XM radio station we had been listening to all day and switched to the audiobook I had downloaded. We started listening to, and I highly recommend, The World is Flat, by Thomas Friedman. As baby boomers who have watched computer technology develop over the last 50+ years, we are thoroughly enjoying the book. He describes how an individual can place an order at a McDonald’s drive-thru in Cape Girardeau, MO with the person on the other end of the speaker who, unbeknownst to the customer, is located behind a computer in Colorado. And the order is ready when you arrive at the window! McDonald’s franchisees have found that orders are actually delivered in 30 seconds less time and with greater accuracy than if the order taker was inside the McDonalds, which means more profit for the McDonalds. And if a call is made to Microsoft about a computer that has gotten a mind of its own, the young man on the other end of the phone, Bob, is really Tabash, who lives in India. Bob/Tabash works nights at the help line, which is daytime in the US, so that he can go to college on the weekends and help support his family. The job offers him a benefits package that he could not otherwise obtain. This book is fascinating! Especially to a couple of nerds like Hubby and me.
We turned off the audiobook not a moment too soon though. We arrived shortly thereafter at Badlands National Park. I had seen pictures, on the same Internet that transmits those McDonalds orders and the Microsoft helpdesk questions, but it was even more amazing than what I had imagined. It was dusk when we arrived, so we are anxious to see everything in the morning. We are in an historic little cabin. Hubby said he could just imagine the cabins with those huge boat-like cars of the 1930s and 40s parked out front. It feels like we are in an old movie, except for that fact that I am on my computer and Hubby is playing with his digital camera. Okay, so it doesn’t feel exactly like an old movie. But you get the idea.
Well, I must sign-off for the night. We are getting up early to take photos of the Badlands in the early morning light. After we get all of the shots we want, we will be off to Belgrade, MT, where we will spend the night. Then we will hang a right and head to Glacier.
Hubby and RTWD say goodnight!
We slept later than we had planned, but after the rough night we needed the sleep. We got up, finished packing, and loaded the car. After a quick stop at the bank, we hit the road at…11:10. Oh well, we are on vacation and aren’t going to get our panties/boxers in a bunch over the late start. As soon as we left the bank parking lot, I mentioned that now I was hungry which was met with guffaws from Hubby. I think he was reminded of a trip to Colorado when the boys were little and announced they wanted a snack before we were ever on the highway. Snacking in the car is an important part of our road trips. Planning the snacks takes almost as much time as planning our route!
We finally did have lunch somewhere in Missouri, near the exit to Rulo, NE. It was a beautiful day for traveling. The temperature was probably in the low to mid 80s all day. The sky was a beautiful blue, dotted with cottonball clouds. Late in the afternoon, we tired of the same XM radio station we had been listening to all day and switched to the audiobook I had downloaded. We started listening to, and I highly recommend, The World is Flat, by Thomas Friedman. As baby boomers who have watched computer technology develop over the last 50+ years, we are thoroughly enjoying the book. He describes how an individual can place an order at a McDonald’s drive-thru in Cape Girardeau, MO with the person on the other end of the speaker who, unbeknownst to the customer, is located behind a computer in Colorado. And the order is ready when you arrive at the window! McDonald’s franchisees have found that orders are actually delivered in 30 seconds less time and with greater accuracy than if the order taker was inside the McDonalds, which means more profit for the McDonalds. And if a call is made to Microsoft about a computer that has gotten a mind of its own, the young man on the other end of the phone, Bob, is really Tabash, who lives in India. Bob/Tabash works nights at the help line, which is daytime in the US, so that he can go to college on the weekends and help support his family. The job offers him a benefits package that he could not otherwise obtain. This book is fascinating! Especially to a couple of nerds like Hubby and me.
We turned off the audiobook not a moment too soon though. We arrived shortly thereafter at Badlands National Park. I had seen pictures, on the same Internet that transmits those McDonalds orders and the Microsoft helpdesk questions, but it was even more amazing than what I had imagined. It was dusk when we arrived, so we are anxious to see everything in the morning. We are in an historic little cabin. Hubby said he could just imagine the cabins with those huge boat-like cars of the 1930s and 40s parked out front. It feels like we are in an old movie, except for that fact that I am on my computer and Hubby is playing with his digital camera. Okay, so it doesn’t feel exactly like an old movie. But you get the idea.
Well, I must sign-off for the night. We are getting up early to take photos of the Badlands in the early morning light. After we get all of the shots we want, we will be off to Belgrade, MT, where we will spend the night. Then we will hang a right and head to Glacier.
Hubby and RTWD say goodnight!
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