Tuesday May 14, 2019
The next morning I was up bright and early from the blazing sun streaming through the windows, despite having the blinds drawn. The spring South Dakota sun was just adamant about making sure I was up and ready to get moving. After eating breakfast, Amber and I were at the Notch Trail Trailhead before 8am.
Very quickly the trail leads you into the narrow, twisted canyons of the Badlands and any sign of civilization you saw is gone. It's a maze and jumble of colored rock/clay layers, impressive spires, and the occasional hard washout surface from a bygone thunderstorm. Yellow wild flowers grew in large quantities and provided a fresh look on the Badlands formations.
Soon we reached the famed wooden ladder that provides access to the upper reaches of the Badlands Wall. To continue on the trail you must negotiate it.
From that point forward it was just a stroll through the upper reaches of the formations until we arrived at "The Notch", the trail's namesake. It provides a stunning view of the Badlands and White River Valley to the south.
Once making our way back to the trailhead, the rest of our time in the Badlands was spent driving the park road, hiking the Cliff Shelf Nature Trail, walking the Fossil Exhibit Trail, and taking in all the sites, sounds, and fresh thunderstorm smells Badlands National Park offered that day.
We did get a real treat on our drive, later that day, however. We came around a corner and on a nearby ridge was a group of Bighorn sheep and some babies.
When we reached the end of the paved road through the park, we took a detour down Sage Creek Rim Road for an hour or so. It was dirt, but relatively smooth. We saw some more neat overlooks and made it to Robert's Prairie Dog Town. It was also down this road where we finally saw some bison that we heard existed in the park.
When we bid farewell to Badlands, our next stop was going to be the Black Hills. It wasn't too far to drive. We refueled and stocked up in Spearfish before deciding to spend the rest of our day exploring the Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway. It was our first taste of the Black Hills, and it gave us some spectacular scenery. Not too far into the drive we happened upon Bridal Veil Falls. It was right by the highway so we didn't have to hike anywhere.
A little farther on we came to trail head parking for Roughlock Falls. You can drive up to it, but Amber and I were up for a hike so we elected to enjoy the warm afternoon. We followed the creek up a canyon until we reached the falls.
Spearfish Falls is nearby too, but we didn't have time to complete the hike to the Lower Falls lookout. I guess it will be there waiting for us next time. We had to get a move on to Lead, SD, where we were renting an Airbnb for the night.
Finding our rental in Lead was quite an adventure. If you've never been to Lead, DON'T GO! The streets are confusing, illogically laid out, and most of the side streets are very narrow and steep. I'm not sure how year round residents fare in winter. Even studded tires aren't going to help you out in Lead. When we did finally reach out place, I was in for another surprise. Like a typical man I didn't really pay much attention to the item on the listing that said "Pet Friendly". I just saw the great price tag and booked it.
As soon as we stepped inside my allergies were on full alert. Dog hair was EVERYWHERE. Thankfully we discovered a small washer/dryer combo in the unit and were able to rewash the bed sheets which helped a little. But in the end we made the best of our situation and I threw some brats on the electric grill as a thunderstorm rolled through.
After a satisfying meal, popping some Allegra, Amber and I settled in for the night by an electric heater, Food Network, and writing post cards to send out in the morning.
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