waiting

I think this red wagon is waiting for a child to take it for a ride.

at Circle View Ranch in Interior, SD

photos! Badlands to Mountains

Photos from my wanders in South Dakota and Colorado are loaded into galleries, ready for viewing. Start with the top level gallery Badlands to Mountains or click on the photos below to enter a specific gallery.

Badlands, and... :

Colorado wanders:

big balloons! :

Interested in words too? You can find my ramblings in the blog entries tagged Badlands to Mountains.

follow the road

A road can feel like it goes on forever, a straight line transforming into a curve, disappearing.

in Badlands National Park

layered

I was fascinated by the layers in some of the rock formations at Badlands, love the stripes of red and cream.

flying

It's time for boarding a plane, for flying, for a traveling night heading to the east. I was originally booked on a flight tomorrow morning but I decided to fly overnight instead. I know I'll need to steal a few hours during the day for some sleep, but I expect to have at least a partial active day.

Maybe as I fly I'll dream of the skydiving demonstration I saw this morning, presented by the Wings of Blue U.S. Air Force Skydiving Team. I'm in awe at the skill and guts of the members of the team - it was awesome to be able to watch (with my feet firmly planted on the ground).

Photo courtesy of the Wings of Blue Demonstration Team

It was a good trip and a good visit with friends.

balloon morning

It was still dark out when we got up this morning. Denise said that we needed to go to the balloon festival. The first wave of balloon inflation and launches was scheduled to start at 7 AM, and we didn't know how far we'd need to walk to get there. We were pretty lucky in finding a parking spot; we weren't too far from the park.

It was pretty amazing to watch the balloons transform from flat material to big floating balloons. The colors were bright. Some of the balloons were just regular balloon shapes, some were characters out of a book.

I'm very glad we were up and about early this morning; that was fun!

--- Rover

on the prairie

Today was a day to explore a new place, the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. It was a solo wandering day, just Denise and me and Blue.

The refuge is northeast of Denver. It started as farmland and was then used as a chemical weapons manufacturing facility for World War II, as a place to manufacture agricultural chemicals (by Shell Chemical Co.), and then for the production of Cold War weapons. I think all of those things are pretty scary, don't you? The thing that is very cool is that the land was cleaned up and is now a home for birds and animals.

Transition to a National Wildlife Refuge In the early 1980s, the Army and Shell began an extensive environmental cleanup under the oversight of federal, state, and local regulatory agencies. Soon after, a roost of bald eagles was discovered prompting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to become involved in managing wildlife at the site. The discovery also led Congress to designate the site as a national wildlife refuge in 1992. In the mid-1990s, a unique public-private partnership formed among the U.S. Army, Shell Oil Co., and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. As cleanup progressed and projects met federal and state regulatory requirements, the Army transferred land to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to establish and expand the Refuge. The Arsenal’s cleanup program was completed in 2010 and the Refuge has reached its final size of 15,000 acres making it one of the largest urban refuge's in the country. from the about page on the refuge's web site

We started in the visitor center, looking at the exhibits, reading about the history of the refuge, and learning about the animals that live there. Next we headed out on the Wildlife Drive Auto Tour. It was ok to stop and look anywhere along that road although when we were in the section of the refuge that runs through the bison enclosure we had to stay in the car. No bison crossed our path but we did see deer in several different locations. Once they were walking toward us on the trail. We stood still and watched until they saw us and ran away.

There were trails around some lakes; that made Denise happy. She likes being in the mountains but she always likes seeing water, especially when the water is smooth and reflecting. We walked around two lakes, one small, one a bit bigger. We drove some more, then returned to walk near the lakes again.

--- Rover

to Royal Gorge

Today we decided to drive for a bit so we could walk across the bridge over Royal Gorge. The Arkansas River flows at the bottom of the gorge, and it looks like it is very far away.

From the park's web site: One of the deepest gorges in Colorado, the Royal Gorge is approximately 10 miles long with the Arkansas River running through it with granite walls towering over 1,000 feet. The gorge was created some three million years ago when a trickle of water first began to slowly carve a canyon out of the solid granite bedrock. That trickle is now the raging Arkansas, one of America’s longest rivers. The Arkansas river continues to carve its' depth at a rate of about a foot every 2,500 years.

The bridge is an amazing structure, and it moves! It's not like a normal road bridge where the surface feels solid. The bridge surface is made of wooden planks, and sometimes you can peek through narrow holes between the planks. Even though Denise isn't comfortable with heights she was fine on this bridge. She said she thinks that was because there is a wire fence on either side of the bridge.

There were some vehicles ferrying people across the bridge. When they were crossing the bridge it really bounced. The bouncing happened even when there were only people walking on the bridge. I wonder if different spots on the bridge are more susceptible to bouncing than others.

We're back at the house now. After we returned from Royal Gorge Denise went for what turned out to be a quick walk. She turned back when she started hearing thunder. There as only been light rain so far, along with some strong wind too.

--- Rover

a chapel

I'd seen the chapel at the United States Air Force Academy from the road; I wanted to see it up close too.

This afternoon we headed to the entrance to the base that was open to the public, driving to the location of the chapel, then walking across the open areas. It's an impressive and fascinating structure. According to the Cadet Chapel page on the U.S. Air Force Academy web page the construction was started in 1959 and completed in 1963 at a cost of $3.5 million dollars.

I was also pulled to the still under construction Center for Character and Leadership Development building. As we approached the area it looked like the tail of a plane constructed of glass. It's a beautiful addition to the campus. I'd like to see it when the construction is completed.

in Colorado Springs

Yesterday was a very long driving day. Overall we ended the day to the south and west of where we started, after following lots of different roads. We did a lot of turning, heading south for a while, then west, then south again. At the end of the day we ended in Colorado Springs, our home for the next few days.

We had a pretty quiet day today, going for some relatively short walks. Our first walking spot was in Garden of the Gods. It looked different today; when we first visited here last November there was snow on the ground.

Late in the afternoon we headed out again, this time following some trails in the land behind the house. We bounced on the trails for about an hour. The grass is pretty tall so I needed to ride in Denise's camera bag for a bit to be able to see. Then we found another trail that was a bit clearer so I could bounce on my own.

--- Rover

changing sky

Today was a two weather day. The morning was gray and then wet, the afternoon sky was a treat in blue.

We started the morning by heading up the Notch Trail. Denise wasn't sure it was her kind of trail and as it turns out it wasn't. You know she doesn't like steep trails, don't you? Well, the Notch trail has a very steep section where there are logs tied together with chains. It kind of looked like a very funky ladder but Denise said it didn't feel like one. She started up it then thought better and turned back. Barb & Harvey continued up the trail while Denise, Blue, and I turned around. We did a bit of playing near the trailhead, then headed down the road to play with the camera. We had a really nice walk until it started raining. That's when Blue & I popped back in the camera bag, Denise popped the rain cover onto the bag and grabbed her raincoat too. The temperature was much cooler than yesterday, in the high 60s during the rain. I was glad to have a dry place to ride!

We were going to head out on the Castle Trail next but we decided to drive down the road instead. It seemed like the trail would be slippery when it was wet.

For once the forecast was exactly right. I checked it on Denise's phone when it was still raining. The forecast called for occasional rain until noon. And that's exactly when it stopped. After that the sky cleared and we were treated with blue, decorated by some white clouds. I think it's awesome that the weather wizard gifted us with pretty weather for our last afternoon in the park.

It was the middle of the afternoon when we returned to the eastern end of the Castle Trail to start walking. It was dry, and the air was much cooler than yesterday. I think it was just 80 degrees, quite comfortable for bouncing down the trail.

Tomorrow is going to be a long driving day. We'll be heading to Colorado Springs, driving south, touching 3 states as we travel.

--- Rover

cracked earth

I just had to find out what kind of rocks form the badlands so I asked Denise to check with the rangers in the park. Denise thought there was clay in the rocks; that was a pretty good guess. They are formed from clay, mud, and silt that is cemented together. The ranger said that is has a finer grain than sandstone but I guess it's kind of in the same rock family. Hmm... I didn't know that rocks have families!

It rained for a while this morning. After the rain the ground was very slippery. I guess that's from the clay content. Blue & I stayed nice and dry in Denise's camera bag while Denise slipped in the mud and almost ended up on the ground. That would have been really messy, it's a very good thing she was able to remain standing.

--- Rover

from the other side

I thought we might be driving a bit this morning before hiking; Denise told me yesterday that we might visit a park on the edge of the Black Hills today. I thought we should stay near and in Badlands. I told her that last night and she listened to me. I think that's a good thing.

We started our wanders this morning with a drive to Scenic, South Dakota. (I still think the town names here sound like descriptions instead of names. What do you think?) It looked like there were a couple of houses where people live, and there was a small post office too. Most of it was a ghost town, with lots of abandoned buildings. Denise played with her camera there for a while, and then we headed back to Interior and drove back into Badlands National Park.

Yesterday we walked part of the Castle Trail starting in the east. Today we again bounced down part of the trail, this time starting at the western end. The two ends of the trail are very different. The eastern side goes through badlands formations while the western side has more grasslands. As we walked more formations started to appear. The two ends of the trail are very different; I liked both of them!

After our rather hot walk we continued along the loop road, stopping when the mood hit to walk and to play with the camera.

This afternoon the car thermometer said that it was 104 degrees (Fahrenheit). That's really really hot! Luckily it was quite windy. I think that helped us feel a bit cooler than we would have felt without the wind. The wind also managed to blow the haze from the forest fires away for the day. I hope that the strong winds we have right now are a sign that tomorrow will allow blue skies to show again.

I was surprised when we turned off at one of the small hotels in Interior before we got back to the Circle View Ranch this afternoon. Denise's friends Barb & Harvey just arrived here today and Denise saw Barb standing there. So we stopped by to say hello. We're all going to be wandering in the park together tomorrow. I think it will be fun to share this beautiful place with our friends.

--- Rover

sleep, interrupted

Yesterday was a day filled with walking and driving, a day that left me ready for relatively early sleep. I slept for a bit, then found myself in a state of wakefulness.

There was a loud noise, a banging sound repeating over and over and over again. After the thought that the house was going to fall down passed I decided to get up and see what was causing the noise. As I opened the door to my room I saw my neighbors across the hall opening theirs too. It turned out that a shutter for the window in the room had unlatched from the wall. With the very strong wind it was flapping, hitting the building and then the window. Luckily my neighbor had a wire hanger that he was able to use to fasten the noisy shutter to the wall. We pulled a chair up against it too, giving all of us a quiet night.

A real repair was completed today; that means we should have a quieter night.

wandering Badlands National Park

We spent the entire day today wandering in Badlands. The morning was our walking time and the afternoon was a combination of driving with a bit of walking.

Our morning started with a wonderful breakfast. We're staying at the Circle View Ranch in Interior, South Dakota. I still think that's a very odd name for a town! Our breakfast entrée was eggs covered with a tasty sauce. There were also cinnamon rolls, muffins, granola, and fresh fruit. It was very yummy, and it gave us enough energy to do a lot of wandering.

The trails in the park seem to be either really short or quite long. We started with a couple of short trails, then headed out on the Castle Trail. That trail was a long one; we walked out for a while, then turned back. I liked that trail - maybe I can convince Denise to head back out on the trail again before we leave here.

After our morning walks we turned to the west and drove Badlands Loop Road. We stopped at viewpoints and at occasional wide spots in the road. We walked down little trails and down non-trails too.

The air was quite hazy today. If I looked straight up at the sky then I could see blue but the horizon showed as gray. Denise told me that she heard the haze is coming from the big fires in Washington. I wonder what it will be like tomorrow.

--- Rover

watch out!

Luckily the only rattlesnakes we have seen so far are pictures on signs.

Denise saw a little snake slithering along on one of the trails we were on today, no big snakes, and no rattlers. I suppose it's good to have warning signs. I don't mind being warned, I just don't want to meet a big snake.

--- Rover

a driving day

Today was a three-state day! I'm really glad that Denise requested GPS in the rental car; it would have been hard for me to navigate using maps. We started on big roads near Denver but as we moved further away the roads were quite narrow. The speed limit was fast though.

I could see the mountains in the distance as we were leaving Denver. As we headed to the east we moved to the flatter part of the state, then we turned to the north and crossed into Nebraska. We passed through farmland wearing corn and hay, through fields filled with cattle and horses. The land was pretty flat until we got close to South Dakota. That's when it started to look more interesting with folded hills, lots of green, and more trees. It seemed when we were in Nebraska that we would see single trees; there are more trees here.

As we got closer to Interior we started seeing rock outcroppings. We'll see more when we go into the park in the morning.

--- Rover

flying

We're finally high in the air after a bit of an adventure on the ground. We were headed to a takeoff point when I looked to the front of the plane and noticed that the cockpit door was open. Uh oh! I tried to distract Denise but she noticed too. We both wondered what was wrong...

After a bit the pilot walked back to the front of the plane and said there was a panel that needed fixing. He and one of the flight attendants tried to fix whatever it was. That didn't work so we went back to the gate so a real mechanic could fix it. That created a bit of a delay. We're flying now; the Fly-Fi service shows a projected arrival time in Denver of 11:25 PM. That means we'll be landing about an hour late. Now it's really important that I convince Denise to take a nap!

Colorado is on Mountain Time, two hours earlier than home. I had to check the time in Nebraska and South Dakota. Both of those states are in two time zones, part Mountain, and part Central. It looks like Badlands is in the Mountain time zone; that means we'll won't need to change time more than once. I guess we won't need to change it at all though; Denise is wearing her Microsoft Band and that syncs with the time on her cell phone. The cell phone changes based on the cell towers where we are. So I guess her watch should change by itself when Denise turns airplane mode off on her phone. We'll find out if that really works in a couple of hours!

Tomorrow is going to be a driving day, from Denver to Interior, South Dakota. I thing that's an odd name for a town, don't you? I suppose it's descriptive, but it sounds like a regular word to me instead of a name.

In case you're curious, I'm posting this from 31,970 feet above central New York, and we're flying at a ground speed of 476 miles per hour. No wonder flying gets us places faster than driving!

--- Rover

bouncing, then flying!

Oh! It's time to bounce around the house to make sure Denise has everything we need to travel. Soon, in just a couple of days, it will be time to fly!

Remember when I last wrote back in June? I told you that I heard Denise talking with someone about Badlands National Park. And guess what! That's where we are heading. I'm so excited!

The closest airport to the park is in Rapid City, South Dakota. We can't get there from here on only one airplane so we're doing something that may seem a little silly and flying into Denver. It's only partially silly though because it's a non-stop flight, we'll drive to Badlands, and then when we head back to Colorado we'll be staying with some good friends of Denise's in Colorado Springs. They are going to meet us for part of the time in Badlands too.

Did you know there are only 5 states that Denise hasn't visited yet? By the end of the day on Friday that number should (will!) be down to two since we'll be driving through Nebraska on our way to South Dakota. The other three are Arkansas, Mississippi, and West Virginia. Maybe someday I'll help Denise plan visits to those states too.

Denise is working on the day that we're flying. She said she'll leave a little earlier than usual to come home before heading to the airport for our evening flight. Our travel day is going to be a really long day. I hope Denise manages to sleep a bit on the plane. She's not very good at that but maybe I've planted the idea early enough to help.

--- Rover