A Little SD action - head to Badlands and tacos

I was hoping to get to the Minuteman Missile park (http://www.nps.gov/mimi/) before it closed for the day (it's right next to the Badlands http://www.nps.gov/badl/), but of course I got sidetracked a couple of times ;) I'll try to get a tour tomorrow, as it's a subject matter that was so near and dear to my heart (for some reason I used to be all obsessed about nuclear war back in elementary and middle school...I think it was around the time that the "Day After" movie came out...I even wrote a paper on it...what's up with that???).

Like the earlier GPS debacle, I've been having zero luck with the cell phone since about 1/2-way across Minnesota. I figured it hasn't been working because everything is so rural, but surely if I take a little detour north up to Pierre it'll work in the state capital!!! Why I put so much faith in Cingular I don't know...oh yeah, must have been that 12 pack I chugged for breakfast (j/k). What compounds the problem is the fact that I can rarely even find pay phones, and when I do they don't seem to let me make any long distance calls, regardless of how much change I pump in. I'm going to have to look on the Cingular coverage map...I don't remember it being this sparse when I got the phone...

After backtracking down to rt 90 from Pierre, I ran into an 1880's kind of cool western town on the way out to the Badlands. Pretty cool...definitely makes you think about how much things have changed in a relatively short period of time. Had to drive through the Badlands to get to the KOA for tonight, and some of the camp sites within the park looked empty. I was contemplating trying to stay right in the park (as opposed to 5 mi outside), but am I ever glad I went for the KOA - tonight was Indian taco night, and tomorrow is $2 all you can eat pancakes!!! So sweet! Besides that, the bathrooms, showers, etc. always seem to be impeccably clean, and there's wireless internet. Plus, this one and the one from last night seem to be mega quiet in comparison to that stupid Deer Creek raceway one!

Pics:

Impeccable showers at the KOA!!


Funny thing...every morning when I wake up, everyone else is already gone...this is 8:30!!!


Whole lot of fields, and then some, for hours and hours...

1880's town pics...

My Hobart and William Smith college roommate had a prairie dog for a pet (for about a week before it ran away)...just like the cell phone, it was the old "bait and switch" - in the pet store, there was this sign that basically said "these guys make great pets". "Smokey" turned out to be an awful pet...all he wanted to do was burrow into things like the couch (which we had to cut open with a razor to reach in and get him out...he didn't take to that too well!). Anyhow, he finally got his way and the split second he had the chance, he ran into a gigantic old storage closet with years of ex-tenant furniture all over the place, and he was never heard from again (he squeaked a lot). Ok, enough on that.

Badlands...couple of pics, although I hope for better ones later...for some reason the canon 20d went on a "blue" kick, which I couldn't tell out there in the broad daylight...how swoot (def: opp of sweet) is that.

Random - this is at the KOA - I guess the Chicago toll booth people had some kind of involvement in this...

Check out this Indian taco!!!

I got hooked up with a really sweet camp site...perfect night to chill out and sip a frosty or two in the heat (it's like 90)