Blyer Family National Park Tour
Day 22-
6/28/18
We left Cheyenne, WY and headed toward Hot Springs, SD. We arrived at our campsite, set up, and then headed toward Wind Cave National Park. Cave tours are first come and there were not any available when we arrived. Luckily the park is really two parks in one; the cave underground and the plains above ground. The plains are beautiful in their own right and full of wildlife. We drove route 87 through the northwest portion of the park and then did some off-roading on road 5 to the east side of the park. The kids loved this adventure and we were rewarded with lots of wildlife sightings including coyote, bison, prairie dogs, various birds, and dung beetles. After exploring the park Kristina and the kids enjoyed the hot springs at Evan's Plunge while Doug and Bella enjoyed some much needed peace and quiet.
Miles-334
Favorites- Wildlife, Wind Cave National Park, SD; Evan's Plunge, Hot Springs, SD
Overnight- Hot Springs, SD
Day-23
6/29/18
Broke camp and headed toward Badlands National Park, SD. We stopped at Mt. Rushmore on the way. We enjoyed seeing this famous National Monument but did not enjoy all of the people! We also stopped very briefly at the world famous Wall Drug, again this was way too many people for our liking! We then arrived at Badlands and headed to the Paleontology Lab. The lab is an educational classroom where you can view the paleontologists working on fossils that had been collected in the park. We then headed back outside the park to feed prairie dogs, a favorite with both the kids and adults! We had planned to do some hiking but the heat and impending storms kept us in the car. We drove the Badlands Loop Road instead and ended up on another adventure! Being in the high prairie we could see the storms coming in from miles away. We got halfway through the park when the storms hit. There was high wind and, being on the prairie, little to no protection from it so we turned around. On the way back we passed a little rock alcove on the edge of the prairie and Emma noticed a big horn sheep sitting there. Of course Doug, Caden, and Emma had to go check it out (even in the storm!). They found a bachelor herd of approx. 7 big horns waiting out the storm. Alston and Kristina watched from the dry vehicle. We watched the sheep until the rain stopped and they headed back into the canyon. Seeing big horn sheep was one of our bucket list items for this trip so we were all excited to find them in our last park. We also saw large herds of bison and of course hundreds of prairie dogs.
Miles-233
Overnight- Interior, SD
Favorites- Feeding prairie dogs, Ranch Store, SD; Big horns, Badlands National Park, SD
Kristina Blyer
20 chapters
16 Apr 2020
Wind Cave and Badlands
Day 22-
6/28/18
We left Cheyenne, WY and headed toward Hot Springs, SD. We arrived at our campsite, set up, and then headed toward Wind Cave National Park. Cave tours are first come and there were not any available when we arrived. Luckily the park is really two parks in one; the cave underground and the plains above ground. The plains are beautiful in their own right and full of wildlife. We drove route 87 through the northwest portion of the park and then did some off-roading on road 5 to the east side of the park. The kids loved this adventure and we were rewarded with lots of wildlife sightings including coyote, bison, prairie dogs, various birds, and dung beetles. After exploring the park Kristina and the kids enjoyed the hot springs at Evan's Plunge while Doug and Bella enjoyed some much needed peace and quiet.
Miles-334
Favorites- Wildlife, Wind Cave National Park, SD; Evan's Plunge, Hot Springs, SD
Overnight- Hot Springs, SD
Day-23
6/29/18
Broke camp and headed toward Badlands National Park, SD. We stopped at Mt. Rushmore on the way. We enjoyed seeing this famous National Monument but did not enjoy all of the people! We also stopped very briefly at the world famous Wall Drug, again this was way too many people for our liking! We then arrived at Badlands and headed to the Paleontology Lab. The lab is an educational classroom where you can view the paleontologists working on fossils that had been collected in the park. We then headed back outside the park to feed prairie dogs, a favorite with both the kids and adults! We had planned to do some hiking but the heat and impending storms kept us in the car. We drove the Badlands Loop Road instead and ended up on another adventure! Being in the high prairie we could see the storms coming in from miles away. We got halfway through the park when the storms hit. There was high wind and, being on the prairie, little to no protection from it so we turned around. On the way back we passed a little rock alcove on the edge of the prairie and Emma noticed a big horn sheep sitting there. Of course Doug, Caden, and Emma had to go check it out (even in the storm!). They found a bachelor herd of approx. 7 big horns waiting out the storm. Alston and Kristina watched from the dry vehicle. We watched the sheep until the rain stopped and they headed back into the canyon. Seeing big horn sheep was one of our bucket list items for this trip so we were all excited to find them in our last park. We also saw large herds of bison and of course hundreds of prairie dogs.
Miles-233
Overnight- Interior, SD
Favorites- Feeding prairie dogs, Ranch Store, SD; Big horns, Badlands National Park, SD
1.
Heading West
2.
Red Rock Canyon, OK (and more travel!)
3.
Wildlife and Dancing!
4.
Petrified Forest
5.
A Travel Break
6.
Grand Canyon
7.
The Wild West
8.
Zion
9.
Bryce
10.
Captial Reef
11.
Arches and Canyonlands
12.
Mesa Verde
13.
Silverton, CO
14.
Black Canyon and The Continental Divide
15.
Another Suprise Adventure
16.
Rocky Mountian National Park
17.
A Day of Rest
18.
Wind Cave and Badlands
19.
Homeward Bound!
20.
Trip Stats
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