Day 6 Valentine, NE to Interior, SD - Way too many miles!
We spent the morning riding through the sand hills of northern Nebraska. No pretty pictures here, a very stark, almost desert like landscape. The type of place the old west cowboys wouldn't want to get stuck in without a horse. We were on US 20 for a stretch, it has a very different look than US 20 as it goes through the Berkshires!
By noon we were into South Dakota and onto the Pine Ridge Sioux Reservation. This is the second largest and most impoverished reservation in the US. Conditions were what you might expect in a situation like that. We stopped at the sight of the Wounded Knee Massacre, a sad moment in the history of both the Sioux and the United States. A teacher giving a talk to a group of young kids at the mass gravesite was telling them that it is important to visit, remember and honor the victims of such tragedies because such things are still happening today and remebering the past might help stop them from happening in the future.
We had lunch in a Tex Mex place in Kyle, still on the Pine Ridge reservation. Once we were done we had about a half hour ride to the campground on the edge of the Badlands. After one wrong turn, that half hour turned into about 2 hours. Towns are so spread out here that it takes about 20 miles before you realize you took a wrong turn. We were low on gas so we had to take a new route out to I-90 t fill up. In all it was about an 80 mile detour in the blazing 100 degree sun when we should have been sitting around the pool at the campground.
We finally made it and got set up, had dinner and took a ride through Badlands National Park just as the sun was setting. The Badlands are just unbelievable. I can't even describe them- just go to the pictures to see for yourself. We made a stop at Wall Drug- touristy but fun all the same.
The ride back to camp was dark and slow with lots of deer on the side of the road.
Tomorrow we finally get to our destination in Deadwood. It will be nice to not have to break camp every morning.
5 comments:
Looks like it's HOT!!!!!! We're glad to see that Scott & Sandy are there, and that you didn't lose them on the way. Your Abby dog has been a lump, but who wouldn't be with 90 degree weather. She does like the air conditioning. Don't worry she is okay and giving us lots of loves!!! When you stop today hope you can COOL off a little. The photos are awsome and we are enjoying the blog. Scott - it brings back some memories.
Mom & Dad E
An 80 mile detour in 100 degree weather??? Did you all get a little cranky???
We are getting out a map in order to follow your trip. Thanks so much for posting...we look forward to checking it out each day.
Love Di and Jack
who eats the burgers? when we were there there were a table full of locals there. well, we assumed they were locals as none of them paid. I guess she just runs a tab for them.
Tom felt bad but we weren't cranky. Actually, sandy and i were commenting that had we not taken this "detour", we would have missed the mustangs actually running thru the field. That was a beautiful site.
thanks for the comments! (mare & tom)
Jack wants to know who was driving the mustangs!
Jack:
These were the remote control kind-one horse power too!
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