The Badlands (had a bad time in)

ok, it wasn't that bad, but parts of it were trying


after driving through South Dakota all day we finally made it to the Badlands. the park is like a miniature version of Brice Canyon. it almost looks fake, like a movie set or something, when you're driving through.



we arrived pretty late and, as usual, didn't have a reservation. luckily we did find one campground that, though somewhat bungholey, had some space.





it looks ok in these pictures. in the morning it was hot as hell though, and there were flies everywhere (and i was hung over). all i wanted to do was take a shower. when i entered the camp community shower area, i was remiss to discover that someone (animal or human) had decided to spray feces all over the shower. i like "roughing it" and all, but showering in a feces-laden shower is a little too outdoorsy for me.

of all the times on our trip, as smoothly as it's gone, this was one point when i had a slight meltdown. the heat and the flies (and the feces) were just too much on that particular morning.

i managed to get through it though and enjoy the Badlands.


we cruised through the park and stopped to listen to a fossil talk with a bunch of bikers (who were really rude to our nice ranger lady)








kiki actually got to pet this buffalo (i didn't get to see it, i was dealing with the shower situation at this time)



picture of kiki taking a picture






i guess they have a lot of rattlesnakes in the Badlands.



luckily, we didn't encounter, though, as i tried to convince kiki, a rattlesnake bite would be good for the blog.


and.. more prarie dog stuff

http://i19.tinypic.com/6b3cqj5.jpg

South Dakota

after North Dakota we headed to.... South Dakota! can't get enough of those Dakotas, let me tell you.



i've driven cross country before and one of the hardest parts is going through states like Kansas, or Nebraska, where's there's absolutely nothing for hours and hours. South Dakota ranks up there with those states as far as being mind-numbingly barren. just straight roads, wheat fields, and a whole lot of nothing. one of the few towns we passed through was called Mound. i'm guessing it was named "mound" since it's on one of the few inclines in the whole state. everything is flat, and then in Mound it goes up a few feet for a few miles:







one great thing about South Dakota is how politically unambiguous it is. everywhere you go you see signs like these:








against kiki's will we stopped at this awesome fireworks store where i picked up some old school fireworks. not sure of the legality thing about bringing them back to California, but we'll worry about that later





we actually stopped and chatted with the fireworks guy for a little while. i asked him what the most dangerous firework was and he said they don't sell that stuff anymore. he seemed as disappointed as i was about that fact. so, i couldn't get any M80's but he did give us some free posters. they're really cool looking actually. i'm definitely going to be hanging one of these in the house when we get back, despite strong opposition from kiki

check it out:




among other attractions in South Dakota we got to see Lawrence Welk's birthplace. the actual place where Lawrence Welk was born. that's right.





it was kind of creepy. there was no one there, and in the farmhouse window they had this Lawrence Welk mannequin playing accordion. good stuff.




along our way we stopped at the famous Wall Drug, where you can still get coffee for 5 cents. we made it a point to stop there because our neighbor 3 doors down comes from the family that started it back in the early 1900's, or something. anyway, it was pretty cool.



as a side note: it was around this time in our trip when we started seeing zillion of bikers on the road, and in every stop along our way. when we got to Wall drug it was completely taken over by them. we learned that there's a huge biker ralley in Sturgis South Dakota going on this week, which explained it. after hearing that we knew we had to check out Sturgis..


at Wall Drug they also had lots of jackalope paraphernalia, since, as you know, Wall South Dakota is where the jackalope was first discovered.



Jackalope heads for sale



got some cool stuff at Wall, including this bad ass horse wallet. nothing says manly like a wallet with a horse on it. am i right or am i right?



i'm right.


i was disappointed to find out they had my 5 dollar poncho for sale for $2.99, in camouflage no less.



i'm going to go back to the Army Navy store in Silverlake and give them a piece of my mind when i get back.


here's a good food sign at a gas station (with bikers in reflection)



and, for good measure, me with a baby indian:

North Dakota

Monday we made our way to North dakota..



my parents have been wanting to build a cabin here for a while and finally made the move. my mom loves it because she can be near her family, and my dad is loving the solitude and having a project to work on (he's building a garage and adding a deck and two bedrooms downstairs - all by himself). this farmer who owns like a million acres sold them 6 acres in the middle of it, in the middle of nowhere. so they have no neighbors as far as the eye can see. it is a beautiful spot.

some views from the house:





(near the farmhouse)



just down the road is a river that you can walk to. we took the kids fishing and it was crazy - everybody was catching fish. even me.

blake caught the biggest one



even Matthew caught one (his first fish)




the next day one of my Dad's new friends, Bill, took us out on his boat to a nearby lake.



Bill's the only one who caught fish (2) but we still had fun. one of his fish he let Blake reel in



then he was cool enough to let us keep the fish which my mom cooked up. (Blake, Matthew and Tina)



one of the nights we had all our relatives over for dinner. as a kid i used to come here in the summer and spend time with my cousins. we had a good time remembering all the stories from those summers (usually ones that involved bodily harm to me). like the time i slammed my finger in a (locked) car door and had to be taken to the hospital for stitches. or the time my cousin Pat rear-ended someone and my head cracked through the windshield. or the time i threw a lit bottle rocket up in the air and it turned and shot directly into my eye.

it should be noted that in each of these incidents my cousins made me lie and say that i had "tripped" and fallen, and that's how i got hurt.

good times. here's me and Pat and my sister




we also got to go to a real life rodeo, where we got to watch guys almost get trampled by bulls, and butch looking women tie up baby goats



i definitely felt a little out of place at the rodeo without a cowboy hat. also, having a beard. no one around these parts seem to have beards. i'm glad i didn't wear my turbin.



it started raining a bit so we watched from the car






it was great seeing my nephews there. got to teach them some professional wrestling moves




got to spend some quality time with the parents. my mom and dad gave us some great traveling avice:




we got to experience some crazy weather while we were there. one minute it's a 100 degrees the next minute there's a hail storm, or lightning. we couldn't believe how quickly the weather changes. and keeps changing..






one thing i found funny about the area we were in is there are millions of billboards for this guy, Bradley Kraft, for foot pain. i kind of wonder how many people in North Dakota have foot pain, and why. gotta love this guys smile though

Bradley




other billboards you might see in North Dakota.



they definitely like their America in these parts.

at the library they had an art exhibit from some of the local elementary students. here are some of the highlights





anyway, it was hard to leave but we had to continue our journey. i'm looking forward to going out there this winter possibly or next summer..