The Badlands 2, Mouth Rushmore, and the drive to Wyoming

Today has been an interesting day. Right now, we are in Skyline Motel in Cody, Wyoming. We decided on our way to Yellow Stone that we'd stop in a hotel because we were badly in need of some showers and modern amenities. And plus we figured our blog readers would be chomping at the bit for some new pictures, so here we are. We got a cheap rate here and wireless is free; we also talked to the woman at the office for an hour about a lot of things. People here are very friendly. Enjoy the update!






I'm really excited about the drive. Feeling rejuvenated after getting some long-awaited shuteye, and really enjoying the Wyoming landscape, we trudge on.








We passed through the Bighorn National Forest on the way, and it was really beautiful. If you're ever out here, drive along WY-16 and you'll catch an eyeful! Probably great for hiking and camping too.


















It's hard to see, but this road is flanked by two HUGE cliffs and has a few switchbacks that lead you down the gully, to those beautiful yellow birch leaves. The Wyoming landscape is easily my favorite thusfar.














PRAIRIE DOGS! This was in Robert's Prairie Dog Town, which is just a pull-off inside the Badlands Scenic Route. They're cutest when they pretend they're like people, as pictured.












At breakfast, a bee got in my pancakes N jelly, so I got angry and tried to swat it with my jeans when it landed on a pole. Instead, my pants wrapped around the pole like a grappling hook and sent the belt buckle into my right hand. It might have broken a bone because I felt nauseous and lightheaded afterward. We'll keep you posted about its progress.












PANCAKES!














Here, I'm mixing up the pancake batter. It was probably 80 degrees there this morning.
















OUR CAR!








A Note about Mount Rushmore:
Although it may be been influenced by our lack of sleep and the fact that we drove 5 hour round trip to see it after we spent all morning in the Badlands, Laura and I found Mount Rushmore both overrated and underwhelming. That and we were outraged that it cost 8 dollars to park in a lot to go up to the stupid thing. DEFINITELY SKIP UNLESS YOU ARE OBSESSED WITH IT.










Perspective Error.












Again, feigning excitement.

















Tourism is fun.
















I didn't understand why there were innumerable international flags at Mount Rushmore. Pretty sure it's quintessentially American.















I see them! Big Heads!


















Laura said we could have just stayed here, outside the bathrooms.

















The end of our hike in the Badlands, the clear high point of the day.














I climbed up on the rock face and took this photo of Laura in her natural habitat.




















Needles in a haystack















BISON!











Prairie Dogs are too friendly. Stupid tourists.
















That's all for now! Stay tuned for pics of Wyoming and Yellow Stone!

The Badlands, SD

After leaving Detroit on Monday, Laura and I had every intention of trying to stop somewhere and drive to the Badlands on Tuesday morning. HOWEVER, since we're handsome adventurers, we decided to drive through the night and arrive at the Badlands in the morning, pitch camp, and get our butts on the trails!

This, however, is not recommended for the following reasons:
1. it is 18.5 hours from Detroit to the Badlands. (that's a lot of driving)
2. isn't that enough!?!

I can't sleep in the car, and Laura slept maybe 3 hours, so when we arrived at the Badlands at almost 7am, we were tired to say the least. But something about the mighty change in landscape between the east coast and everything west of the Mississippi sparked an air of excitement in us, in spite of our exhaustion. The change was made all the more dramatic when, as the sun slowly crept up, more and more of the prairie and hills were revealed to us.







Amazing. Words cannot describe.

Hiking through this place is the simplest way to placate my inner child. It is a never-ending source of visual stimuli.
















Some strange line in the rocks.

















Me at the lookout at the end of our hike.
















Laura! South Dakota!













At this point, Laura and I had been awake for about 27 hours. The genius here is that we were really exhausted and hungry and our spirits were a little down. So to keep up the optimism, we decided to smack on a smile and feign incredible, kindergartenesque excitement.

We were excited in real life, but it was hard to express it. I think wide eyes gave it away















We're at our campsite!













The tent is up!

(Thanks, Rich Hoban for loaning us some of these fineries. They're treating us quite well.)












Rich's camp stove warmed us up some water for the tea that kept us awake and spiritually centered. Mostly awake, though.




















Being in the Badlands is like being on the moon.



















Desert vegetation.








It was pretty cold when we first got to SD. Not unpleasant, but crisp and windy enough to bundle up. There were rainclouds overhead when we first arrived, but they burned off at around noon. In this picture, I was convinced it was like 1:30pm since I was delirious. It was 9:45am. Here, I'm surprised.










Checking trail heads and making ramen.












Buying the campsite.














Badlands early in the day.













7:30am.















Ever the photographer. Too bad I haven't been taking the bulk of the photographs on this blog.











































Overlook


























We're out of the car!












Laura, with the South Dakota flashcard from the set she jacked from Patrick.

THANKS, BUDDY














Epic Western













NO SLEEP TILL BADLANDS

REWIND!

Because I'm inexplicably lazy, up until this point, I've neglected to download the images that were sitting on my camera and opt to let Laura do all that work... So here are some of the pictures we've been missing (in all their glory).






Laura with the pencils that launched a thousand ships.

















Bison














Caramel Apples: Not just for the car anymore.










There's something you should know. For some time now, Laura and I have had a tradition that whenever we arrive at a destination, we run and jump to express our excitement and pure exhilaration in the sublime experience of travel. This trip will be no exception. Look out for images like these, taken as we were boarding the car, embarking from Cleveland, only 9 days ago.









I channeled a traditional Russian dancer for this one.












Laura opts for the graceful swan in this, one of her finest poses.