B-b-b-badlands! (inc. Wall Drug)

The Badlands are BAD ASS. For real. You need proof? Just check out these pictures...

The Dod resting in the sunset after a long haul.

The view from our window from the campsite.

As my best friend Amanda put it, “Walking through the Badlands is like walking on another planet”. So true...

Upon arriving in Badlands National Park, four big-eared deer greeted us on the road. We camped in an open-land campground for only $5 per night with our America the Beautiful pass. The treeless, burn-ban campground was non-traditional compared to most camping experiences. but we had fun nonetheless. Unlike the campfire ban, the stars burnt bright and unconstrained in the heavens. Never have I seen so many stars. The Milky Way was clearly visible and shooting stars were not uncommon. (photos unavailable)

Capturing the depth and magnificent beauty of the Badlands through photography is simply impossible. Every single step issues more photos. Gray and white stone build up to bashful purple and golden orange layers mimicking the sunset. The four-mile hike Chris and I took could have easily taken 3+ hours hadn’t Chris prompted me through the trails without shooting photos every other minute. Here's a few we did find time for...

We started waaay over there!

The beautiful grasslands...

This sign made me a nervous wreck for the whole first hour of the hike. Here, here, here little rattlesnake...

A couple of friendly co-hikers offered to take our photo.

What a fantastic sunset to end a pleasant day...

After the hike, we biked two miles back to the campsite and heated chicken soup and leftover kielbasa for dinner. [By the way Darin, that soup is fantastic! (that should mean a lot coming from the soup queen herself)].

Chris and I adopted a pet named Meow Meow. Meow Meow is a broke-ass bee from the Badlands. He landed on our picnic table and promptly dived into the whisky. We hung out with little Meow Meow for a while until he got bored and went to play with the bun-rabs. An hour later Meow Meow stumbled back for a second shot and promptly pencil-dived into Chris’ drink. Meow Meow flew around in circles until the birds woke us up the next morning. We looked high and low for his silly drunk ass all morning until we finally gave up and headed out toward Wall, SD.

Lo and behold, on Friday morning, there was Meow Meow chillin’ on the window and soakin’ up the rays trying to nurse his poor hangover! Just before we exited the Badlands, Meow Meow recovered and opted to join the Prairie Dogs instead of accompanying us to Wall Drug. (He's been there at least a billion times. Freeloader.)

We were lucky enough to happen upon a happy family of prairie dogs on our way out of the Badlands.

Just like Jason promised, Wall Drug is the absolute kichiest place in the wide USA. What a treat! T-Rex and five-cent coffee were the biggest perks. Chris and I spent an hour and a half roaming the aisles purchasing crap like flyswatters and postcards.

Currently, we are camped out at an RV camp called “Tee Pee Campground” just south of Rapid City listening to “Me First and the Gimme Gimmes” and snacking on pretzels and chips for dinner. Till next time, peace!

The birth of Dod

It all started in the spring of 2009. Chris and Nikki took a trip to the East coast in hopes of falling in love with Baltimore and moving there by the end of summer. Mainly, they just wanted a change of scenery. Relocating closer to the ocean would be perfect.

After a short visit to Baltimore (too grimy), Silver Spring (too pricey), Washington DC (too dicey), and Philadelphia (too dirty) they were not as confident in the move as they had hoped they would be. They discussed their options: A) Resign their leases, stay in Chicago another year while continue working at the magazine and at the law firm saving money to take a few more trips to prospective places to move. B) Quit their jobs, buy an RV and live out of a van for six months traveling the country, camping, and visiting friends.

The choice was simple.

That very night over plastic cups of boxed wine they channeled their inner Jack Kerouac. They mapped out a route across and around the USA and everywhere in between. They got serious and created an expense spreadsheet. They got really excited to get back in touch with Nature, do some writing and simply live simply.

One week later they purchased the vessel that would drive them across the land.

Chris found the RV on craigslist.com. Some guy named Dale was selling a 1981 Dodge Transvan with 60,000 miles. One Saturday morning Chris and Nikki drove to Ottowa, Illinois to check it out. The van had been sitting in Dale’s driveway for years. Dale had injured his back shortly after acquiring the Dodge. Many surgeries and multiple kids later, he never had the chance to take it out.

The plate on the hood read “DOD” instead of “DODGE”. The bumper was hanging by a rubber cord. Rust spotted the paint job. The vent on the roof was cracked and there was water damage inside. The radio didn’t work at all. There were a couple of freeloading spiders. Faded orange shag carpet covered the walls. The base of the table was bent. It was kind of smelly. One quarter mile into the test-drive the battery died. After it was jumped the brakes began to smoke.

Things did not look good.

Chris and Nikki still had high hopes that this was the machine that would escort them on their journey. Local mechanics checked it out and gave the engine two thumbs up. Well, six thumbs up among the three of them.

That was all they needed. They were convinced. Their gut feeling was reinforced by the mechanics’ unanimous approval. They told the owner they wanted to drive around and talk it over. They weighed their options agreeing that the absolute worse case scenario was worth the risk. They pulled out some cash, made the down payment and that was the birth of the DOD.