Taylor ’27 settles into the camp site and gets a first taste of the Badlands National Park in the company of prairie dogs and bison.
On our first day we woke up in rapid city after a busy travel day the night before. With a one-hour car ride on the highway and some back roads we made our way over to Sage Creek Camp Ground where we were going to stay the night in tents. Upon arrival, it was apparent the Prairie Dogs mainly occupy that area and love to run around. There were also a few American Bison off in the distance. After settling in and setting up our tents, we each got fitted for our bikes and went for a shake out ride. The ride wasn’t that long, only around 3 miles, but it was fun to finally get moving after all the traveling and get a feel for the bikes. We then had a quick lunch and headed off to Wall Drug which, if you know, is basically Buccee’s but even crazier. It is mainly full of touristy items but we learned that it once was a drug store (hence the name) and throughout time just kept expanding to different shops. One shop we visited was the ice cream shop, which was amazing. Then, we went over to the main entrance to Badlands National Park and took the scenic road throughout the park. We stopped in the beginning and went on a hike through some of the Badlands, getting to see all the different rock layers from even closer and learning about its history. After walking we then drove on the road throughout the park, watching the sunset over all the rocks and stopping whenever we came across the bison. There were quite a few we got to see from up close and others off in the distance rolling around, enjoying the cool weather. Finally, we ended the day with some delicious quesadillas with ham and cheese and then went off to bed!
