Dang Commuters

Our morning, mid afternoon and drive home commute all had slow downs.

We cut through Custer State Park to get to the Badlands. On our way out of Custer, a bison started to cross the road, but then changed his mind and walked down the center line. He would meander over in front of us, then back to the center line and then back to his side. He finally gave us the right to pass without it being a danger to either of us.

As we entered the Badlands our first stop was Big Badlands Overlook. It was also our first stop on Saturday when it was grey and rainy.

We drove over to the Notch Trail and did the hike there. I watched many a video about the ladder part of the hike, so I knew what I was getting myself into. Going up wasn’t bad, but going down bordered on terrifying. I just kept repeating my mantra “I am a billy goat”.

After that we drove and stopped at various places just in awe of the views.

And then we hit another slow down on the road, more bison. I don’t know why but seeing them here in my Badlands made my heart full, more than when I see them in Custer, not sure why.

We began the drive to the Stronghold Unit of Badlands. If you do this in the off season, it’s a long drive with no bathrooms anywhere and no shrubs/trees to hide behind.

Our goal here was to see Red Shirt Table Overlook. We ate our lunch, sitting in the back of the car enjoying the views.