The Badlands--Day 2

I had a wonderful time riding next to Bill across South Dakota.  The kids were happily engaged listening to Bud, Not Buddy, and Bill and I could chat and watch the terrain go by.  I thought South Dakota was very interesting...when I looked up.  When I looked ahead or out of a side window, there was flat flat flat as far as the eye could see.  Western Kansas has nothing on South Dakota.  However, if I looked up, there were thousands of birds, migrating in paths like bird interstates.  

When we first saw the birds, they looked like smoke after a candle has been blown out, very black and in defined lines.  On closer inspection we could see the hundreds of individual dots--small birds--which made up the lines of smoke.  And as I followed these lines with my eyes, I could see them extend miles into the  distance like long snaking rivers in the sky.    On the other side of the van were different migrating birds which traveled in small flying Vs like geese, but these Vs twisted and turned like ribbons being blown away in the wind.   

Almost at the end of the day, we came to the Badlands.  Imagine traveling west in a covered wagon, rejoicing over the easy going on the flats of South Dakota and then being confronted with this.  The water erosion here has created colorful, deep and narrow canyons which extend for miles and miles.  The kids were happy to get out of the van to look and then wander through the visitor's center for some wiggle time.  I would love to go back and camp and hike there...when everyone is potty trained.