This would be considered a standard town in that area..
Which, when you look closer, has a population of 67 people. Metropolitan! Remember that all bikes must stop for a Bud Light too...luckily we were in a Focus.
Jeff taking photos.
We opened up the day by just checking out a scenic overlook and taking some pictures.
The sun now fully lit the formations, and they were great. This is near where we would begin our hike for the day (more than 5 miles long).
We began with a strenuous climb right up the hills. It was great! These little sticks guided us up the crumbly rock faces.
We made it to the top!
We then found a bunny friend! There were a few bunnies around during the walk. This one didn't think we could see it.
These flowers grew all over. There didn't seem to be much pattern where they grew either.
This was the standard trail - not fancy, but wonderful for seeing a side of the badlands commonly unseen. Once we got into the farther out paths, we saw no one.
The climate is extremely arid, but occasional rain can make these paths slightly dangerous.
I loved this spot. Shots like these created a 360 degree view.
Another view from the same spot.
Jeff, taking more photos. He looks so professional.
At about this point I was driving Jeff nuts by a perpetual fear of rattlesnakes. I never fully got over this fear that day.
What a majestic rock!
I had fun just looking at this thing. All the flowers in front of it certainly helped. It felt out of place in such a desert-like environment, however.
I intend to show you the various plants and sights that we saw. Thus, cacti.
Chipmunk! I really came to love these cute little creatures. They were seemingly the only living creatures around us, although there were a ton of rattlesnake warning signs.
There was also the bunny. We seemed to paralyze it with fear.
So we got a little closer. This violated the rules, I know. But it was certainly worth it to get this cute up close shot.
More hiking. The panoramic view.
Power lines. If you ever travel across the country, not the great diversity of power lines. They are really quite unique and sometimes even pretty.
This just looks like a standard dandelion, right?
Wrong! Look how big it is! These were all over.
The other path we took...which featured a more grassy, winding terrain.
The narrow pathway. Look up the hill, you can see the small path go over it in the middle of the image.
Smiley...placed here by some wily traveler.
We back closer to civilization! Check out the family that climbed to that point.
The bikers! You just wait...
Consider this foreshadowing.
But for now, let's forget about Sturgis. Let's think about this sight. Jeff ventured out onto this scary overlook.
And I had a temporary moment of insanity and began to follow him.
Until I got to the edge. Phew! I was scared to death and amazed at the same time.
Here we are on the very edge. I call this our Asian Tourist Photo.
This IR photo from the same position shows how there are plants (in white) that live on the rock faces. So while the land looks largely desolate, optics can prove that life exists.
The unusual rock formations of badlands national park do no comprise the entire park. There is a large area of the park that is full of flat grassy areas. These are home to literally thousands of prairie dogs.
Check them all out! The neat part about the grassy areas is that one direction would be flat, and the other would drop off into neat rock formations and wilderness (see the map to the right).
You could get real close!
Horses!
Dinosaurs!
And, Phil! It's like Philadelphia, but smaller.
After our hike and drive through the less populated areas of the badlands, we drove to Sturgis. It is the location of the largest motorcycle rally in the country (maybe the world?).
Jeff and I wanted to experience different things on our trip. The Sturgis rally was certainly unique!
Most of the activities center around biker culture.
Aside from bikes, food and evangelists seemed to be the most common sights.
I am sad I didn't buy a T-shirt now..
But Jeff did get a picture to prove that I was actually there.
But there was an elvis sighting!
The number of bikes is overwhelming. As we left I snapped this shot to give you an idea of how many bikes are coming into the small town of Sturgis. Sadly, we have no pictures from our last adventure from the day - a drive through the Black Hills to get to Custer, SD.
