Day 2 (July 5): Badlands

Total Driving Distance: 689.6 miles (trip total: 1,491.8 miles)

States Traveled: Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota

Main Activity: Driving, Corn Palace, Badlands National Park

Oak Grove, Missouri

We managed to leave Oak Grove, Missouri, around 8am on Day 2, after a quick run and reorganization of the van. Day 2 consisted of two main roads: I-29 along the border of Iowa and Nebraska, and I-90, which cuts across South Dakota. We quickly discovered the pattern of I-29: for every fifty farms we passed, there were at least five strip clubs/adult video store and no more than one gas station. The 7-8 hours spent on this road were the most brutal of the trip so far. I kept myself busy by annoying Liz and listening to tunes and Liz kept herself busy by playing the Sims and watching Boy Meets World.

When we finally reached South Dakota, we began passing some "must-see" sites, such as the famous Corn Palace, which was pretty much just a giant palace made of corn:

The random and kind of creepy Corn Palace

After the Corn Palace, we headed straight for the Badlands, where we arrived at around 7:30pm. We bought the America the Beautiful National Parks Pass, which for $80 will give you entry to any National Park for a year (the Grand Canyon alone is $25 per person for entry).

After finding a tent site, we went to the small restaurant near the campground and got some real food to eat. Then at nine there was a Ranger-guided astronomy presentation, where Park Ranger Larry Smith of Texas showed all of us Badlanders which stars were which and when he thinks aliens will come to see the Park. Unfortunately, it was pretty cloudy, so we left during the intermission of the show and passed out in the always comfortable Honda Odyssey.

We spent most of Day 3 in the Badlands, so I'll talk more about them then, but for now here are some pictures of the incredible National Park: