Getting Dirty in the Badlands

The morning came way too early today.  Eli obviously didn't get the memo about the time change, so he woke for his normal 5:30 a.m. feeding, but it was 4:30 a.m. here in South Dakota.  Of course, it took me a bit of time to feed and change him, then put him back to sleep, so rather than go back to sleep, I changed into my running clothes, put on my tennis shoes, and quietly crept out of the camper for an early morning run to watch the sunrise.  

Stepping out of the camper, I was happy to see that some of the haze had lifted from yesterday.

The campground is just on the other side of this field.

It was peaceful, open and mostly cool yet from the night, so it felt really good.  Using my GPS, I found a road that wrapped around the backside of the campgrounds, so I got a 3.5 mile run in without having to go too far away.  Just about the time I was finishing up, the sun was starting to peek over the formations, so I hurried to the camper to grab my camera.

I thought this camper top was pretty interesting.

It was quiet, peaceful and really relaxing out in the openness.  It definitely refreshed me for the day.

After I showered, we grabbed a few things and headed off to explore the park a bit.  I wasn't expecting too much for a hike, as most of the trails were flat and winding, so I didn't even think to grab our backpack.  Well, that turned out to be a mistake, as Derrick's mom planned to do a strenuous hike called Saddle Pass.

I emptied my purse contents, shoved a few diapers, wipes, sunblock and water bottles into my purse and Derrick, being a good sport, toted it around with him along the hike.  The kids instantly started to climb all over everything, getting dirty and enjoying being let to wander.  I had no idea what we were in for (I honestly thought we'd be winding through the formations along flat ground), as I joked to Ernie that the man standing up on the peak of the formation was where we were going.  As it turned out, that was where we were heading!  Straight up!

Can you still see him?  Yep, waaayyy up there!

All the kids could talk about was the rattlesnakes.  The ranger said it was rare to see one if on the trails.

They climbed to this peak very quickly on their own.

Pretty proud.

We started off on the hike and instantly we realized it was going to be a tough climb to the top as it was very difficult to gain any traction with the loose dirt/rock under foot sliding.  Although hard, it was worth every ounce of energy and sweat!

  

Half-way up we stopped for a water break and a group photo.

Ernie and Great Grandpa Collins, sitting in chairs in the shade of the tree.
Can you see them?

How about now?

Once at the top, we paused for photos, guzzled water and reflected on what we had just accomplished.  We all had our minds blown when we realized we had just climbed the side of a plateau... the other side was flat and open.  Rather than take the other trails around the grassland area, we decided to climb to the tip of the peak as the man had when we had first arrived.

It was windy up at the top, but the view and the feeling of the accomplishment was great!