M T   R U S H M O R E   &   J E W E L   C A V E

Saturday, August 21, 2004

On the way I pass by this interesting rock formation.

Passing through Custer State Park. Hmmm, another memorial to Custer.

Here's a buffalo while passing through a park. He's just sauntering through the parking lot. Not a care or worry in the world.

The evening has arrived and I'm still far from the Badlands.

Long story short, I drive a ways into the Badlands but strike out on finding an overnight location. All the dirt roads that spider-leg out from the paved highway are gated, effectively making them inaccessible, something I hadn't expected. I have the option to just park the van on the side of the paved highway but that would leave me feeling rather exposed and vunerable.

So I backtrack to a small town I had passed through earlier and encounter dirt side-streets where no one is parked, everyone is parked in their yard. I get a bad feeling about the place and decide to head back in the direction of Rapid City, SD to see if I can find someplace safe and unexposed to park. Well, much to my displeasure, I find myself back in Rapid City, SD, the place where I had the run-in with the police the evening before.

This time I take care to just park on the outskirts of the city. After parking I just sit in the van waiting for the police to show up, not a pleasant feeling (this night proved to be my most paranoid overnight of the trip). Fortunately, the police never materialize, and I manage to get some shut-eye in before the morning light.