This morning I woke up with one thing on my mind- a donut from Wall Drug. Kristin may be right... I must be a foodie, because all I remember about my trip to Wall Drug as a 10 year-old is the really great donut I had there. My memory proved to be accurate; they have freshly made donuts that are pretty good. A little greasy, but much better then Dunkin.
I set out to find Minuteman Missile NHS, which was not an easy task. It was not well marked and is basically just a trailer next to a gas station. You can drive out and see a missile, but I skipped that. Despite its humble headquarters, I learned something new about our nation's history. I had no idea we had a huge arsenal of missiles hidden in the hills of South Dakota. The idea was that, if Russia attacked, we could launch those suckers up over the North Pole and take out Moscow in less than 30 minutes.
This site is right next to the Badlands. I had planned on hiking and camping there, but when I arrived, it was extremely windy. Like, the-wind-could-blow-you-over windy. And there's only one long hiking trail; the park is meant to be driven through, and you stop at viewpoints once in a while. So that's what I did. It reminded me of Little Egypt, although Little Egypt is more fun. The hoodoos are better for climbing, and there are no trails or people. Also, if you're at Little Egypt, chances are you're there with Jason, and he will challenge you to a game of Pig.
I wasn't sure what to do after the Badlands. I have a dilemma I didn't anticipate- it is cold. Very cold. I can't camp if the lows are in the 30's. I realized I needed to get to warmer temps ASAP. I decided to head across Wyoming, then go south and intersect with the route I originally planned. I'd do one night in a hotel, then camp as much as possible.
You can't drive across Wyoming without stopping at Devil's Tower, so I did. It was just as cool as I remembered. I love how it looks like it's dripping down the sides, and I wanted to see what it looked like up close, so I started climbing. You need a permit for anything past the boulder field, but I just kept looking for my next hand/foothold and couldn't stop. So technically, this was my first time poaching.
I was pleased with how far up I made it. In one of the pics below, you can see how close I was to the top. According to a ranger, the easiest route is a 5.7 and it only takes about 4-6 hours to get to the top. I really want to see what's up there! But sadly, I wasn't with a climber, so I made this little video, then turned back.
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?feature=youtube_gdata_player&v=rBqXyTvj_34&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DrBqXyTvj_34%26feature%3Dyoutube_gdata_player
I'm spending the night in Gillette, WY tonight and driving through Yellowstone tomorrow.
I set out to find Minuteman Missile NHS, which was not an easy task. It was not well marked and is basically just a trailer next to a gas station. You can drive out and see a missile, but I skipped that. Despite its humble headquarters, I learned something new about our nation's history. I had no idea we had a huge arsenal of missiles hidden in the hills of South Dakota. The idea was that, if Russia attacked, we could launch those suckers up over the North Pole and take out Moscow in less than 30 minutes.
This site is right next to the Badlands. I had planned on hiking and camping there, but when I arrived, it was extremely windy. Like, the-wind-could-blow-you-over windy. And there's only one long hiking trail; the park is meant to be driven through, and you stop at viewpoints once in a while. So that's what I did. It reminded me of Little Egypt, although Little Egypt is more fun. The hoodoos are better for climbing, and there are no trails or people. Also, if you're at Little Egypt, chances are you're there with Jason, and he will challenge you to a game of Pig.
I wasn't sure what to do after the Badlands. I have a dilemma I didn't anticipate- it is cold. Very cold. I can't camp if the lows are in the 30's. I realized I needed to get to warmer temps ASAP. I decided to head across Wyoming, then go south and intersect with the route I originally planned. I'd do one night in a hotel, then camp as much as possible.
You can't drive across Wyoming without stopping at Devil's Tower, so I did. It was just as cool as I remembered. I love how it looks like it's dripping down the sides, and I wanted to see what it looked like up close, so I started climbing. You need a permit for anything past the boulder field, but I just kept looking for my next hand/foothold and couldn't stop. So technically, this was my first time poaching.
I was pleased with how far up I made it. In one of the pics below, you can see how close I was to the top. According to a ranger, the easiest route is a 5.7 and it only takes about 4-6 hours to get to the top. I really want to see what's up there! But sadly, I wasn't with a climber, so I made this little video, then turned back.
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?feature=youtube_gdata_player&v=rBqXyTvj_34&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DrBqXyTvj_34%26feature%3Dyoutube_gdata_player
I'm spending the night in Gillette, WY tonight and driving through Yellowstone tomorrow.
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