Badlands National Park, South Dakota

June 16, 2025

There's something about traveling west on I-90 through South Dakota that evokes a romantic sentimentality of going "Out West". For Julie, the anticipation builds with each westward mile, and it never gets old for her. Of course, perhaps some of this anticipation is subliminally reinforced by all the billboards that urge a stop to see this or that amazing thing.

Heading out of Chamberlain, South Dakota

Our home for the next five nights was a free boondocking location on the top of a bluff just outside of Badlands National Park. This was an uniquely scenic spot for us, albeit a bit windy at times.

Julie would say the view in front of us was "as far as the eye can see"; Rick would more likely characterize the view simply as "barren"

There were not many other RVs here when we arrived on a Thursday morning, but it filled up quite a bit each evening

The view of the Badlands from our deck

It was easier to see the view if you walked up close to the cliff edge

As recently as last year, camping was permitted up to the edge of the cliff. In fact, there used to be a campsite where Rick is standing in the above picture. Overcrowding and more than one incident of an rv being blown over the edge (it can get really windy here) put an end to that.

That first afternoon, we got on our bikes and explored the entire 3-mile-ish length of the boondocking area.

That's our camper near the cliff edge

Looks like we are in cow country

We have both been to Wall Drug before (Rick had been several times as a child while en route for backpacking trips, and we had gone with the kids back in 2012), but one can't not go to Wall Drug, especially after the onslaught of so many billboards. So, we made the easy trip to Wall one day to revisit the touristy establishment for old time's sake.

The Apothecary is still a functioning drug store

There's even a Traveler's Chapel

Rick kind of used to want a jackalope when he was younger

You can still get free ice water

This one's a bit of a time warp (circa 2012)

Pretty sure this exact photo was also taken in 2012

This store sold chainsaw art (don't think the giant jackalope was for sale)

You could go up in the giant jackalope for $1 (we didn't)

Another day's objective was to take one of the scenic drives in the national park. Warning--lots of pictures!

Lots of grass

Prairie dog!

Bison!

Some of the vistas seemed to go on forever

Rick decided against going out to the point

Cliff swallows made themselves at home in this shelter

More bison!

And more prairie dogs!

Sunday was Father's Day and that meant breakfast out on the deck.

Happy Father's Day!

We later went for a hike down the bluff across from our camper.

Rick had wanted to find a different way up out of the canyon (to make the hike a loop, of course) , but he couldn't find a route that Julie approved of

With temperatures approaching 100 degrees that afternoon, we decided to get into our air-conditioned truck and do another drive in the national park (because not enough pictures had been taken yet).

A whole herd of bison

That night, we were treated to approaching storms with lots of lightning from two directions. We decided to close up the deck due to threats of impending 70 mph wind gusts (while our neighbors next door were on the roof of their RV enjoying the light show).

Watching the storm build in the distance

It ended up being pretty windy when the storms finally arrived, but probably not close to 70 mph. Sorry, no pictures turned outof the lightning show (it was quite spectacular, though).

Next stop--the Black Hills!

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