There was a movie years ago starring John Candy and Steve Martin, the two were trying to get home for Thanksgiving, wound up together and hilarity ensued. This was our first day of the Dakotas, or better yet trying to get to the Dakotas. 

Thursday 08/28; Our friend Kate Holman, Tammy and I were at the airport for an early flight and should have arrived in Rapid City, ND by 1:30pm… but after delay after delay and finally a cancelation of the flight and subsequent missed connecting flight meant we had to find another way to North Dakota. After some searching we found a flight combo that got us to Aberdeen, ND via Minneapolis, MN then grabbed a rental car for a 5hr drive to Rapid City.

But there is more… After we had rearranged our schedule the original flight did leave, almost 6 hours late and of four checked bags two were on that flight!! The other two were on that same flight per the carrier, but the AirTags we had inside said differently, but the carrier could not find them. Wow!! After speaking to a couple great Delta gate agents with our new airline, they helped track down our bags the previous carrier lost, and got them on our plane just before we boarded. Partial save!!!

Fortunately we could track our other bags via AirTags and was able to watch them as they made their way from Nashville to Denver to Rapid City, and we could pick them up at the airport once we arrived around 2am on Friday 08/29, or could we? Turns out the airport, although open to walk in and out, was abandoned and no one was there to get our bags until the next day.

Our trip that began in Nashville at 6:15am 08/28 finally ended around 3:00am 08/29 as we got to our AirB&B and was able to get some sleep. Oh, and I should also mention the Rapid City Police Department does enforce rolling through stop signs at 2am even with NO ONE else on the roads, trust me I know, LOL.

Friday 08/29: After a quick sleep we headed out for coffee, Tammy with fresh clothes, but for Kate and I the same clothes from the previous long day. A quick stop at the airport netted our luggage and fresh clothes and we headed East toward Badlands National Park.

During our trips around the country we have noticed one constant, the US has nearly all the ecosystems, and now we see that again. Today as we drove we passed through grasslands and prairie, and once inside Badlands NP we see the eroded soil and rock formations with the badlands side having little to no plant growth, and what was seemed to be lacking life due to little water.

This National Park was full of unique formations, beautiful in its own way. We hiked three trails, a portion of Castle Trail, Medicine Root, and Notch Trail. Much of the Castle Trail was badlands, very little growing life whereas Medicine Root was prairie grasslands. Although very close in proximity both were so very different. Notch Trail was more of the badlands feel but wound its way up a special ladder and rock formations to an overlook of the valley below. Was short at only 1.4 miles but the long climb up the log ladder and the view at the end were worth it.

We drove the scenic byway through the park to exit, and so glad we did. Along the way we saw bison grazing, mule deer, and prairie dogs doing what they do. Was a treat for sure to see the wildlife native to the area.

Before heading back to our rental we followed the many signs pointing the way to Wall Drug. What is Wall Drug you ask, evidently it’s a sprawling tourist attraction of international renown that draws some two million annual visitors to a remote town. For those in the South think of it as an early version of Buc-ees, a large cowboy themed store with various attractions.

Tomorrow, off to Custer State Park.

Full album of pictures: https://photos.destinationsawait.com/Planes–Trains–and-Automobiles-