The Badlands had long been on our list of parks to visit. We began at the fossil prep lab inside the Ben Reifel Visitors' Center. After touring the lab and the center, watching the video, and completing all the tasks required for the kids' first round of Jr. Ranger pins, we made way on the famed Badlands HWY 240 Loop Road.
We stopped at nearly all the outlooks. The kids were free to run and climb (and pose for pictures... oh, Grant). The rock formations are cavernous. And the plateaus were strikingly green. The weather was so temperate while we were there. It was hard to imaging the terrible conditions that exist here in the winter months which give the Badlands its name.
How many prairie dogs can you see? There were hundreds in this field. They were so noisy we could hear them from across the street.
After driving the loop, we left the park and travelled the short distance to the Minuteman National Historic site. Jeffery was asleep and so Cori took the older three in to tour the center and complete requirements for their second round of Jr. Ranger pins. I ran in and toured the center before we left. So fascinating. During the Cold War, the best defense was a good offense, and the U.S. was the bomb (no pun intended). With purposeful placement of several minuteman missile sites like this one, the U.S. could deliver a nuclear bomb to anywhere in the world in about 30 minutes. The threat was enough to keep us safe. The kids got a big kick out of the swear-in ceremony part of receiving their pins at the visitor centers.
That night back at the KOA, we availed ourselves of the chilly pool and the BBQ to celebrate Jeffery's 2nd birthday. In all my vast planning for this trip, I didn't get around to a birthday treat. We scoured the convenience store and found some pudding cups - sugar free :( - and stuck some candles into one... In my defense, baby boy did have a couple of packages to unwrap.
The next RV malfunction we faced... the stairs that would fold down beneath the door began getting stuck and loosing power and we had to fight to get them up when we wanted to drive anywhere.
