No Ordinary Place

The morning started with more royal treatment -- Joan's mom, Gloria, was at the stove with made-to-order pancakes! The options were: blueberries, m&ms, coconut, pecans, Heath bar crunch, walnuts, and chocolate chips. The KOA campgrounds we're staying at have pancake breakfasts, too, but I'm doubtful they'll be anywhere near the ones Gloria Beaner cooked up!



After breakfast the boys felt they weren't done with their job and went back out to the barn to take care of the pigeon business. The adults got to explore more of the farm and learn about what they do each day. Sadly, Michelle's dream of living the Little House on the Prairie life was dashed--this is hard work!

The bug carnage is a serious issue--guts and blood splattered all over the front.

After a lunch of burgers we headed out about 1:10pm going toward the Badlands. The first scenic stop we got to we were blown away by both the heat (105 degrees) and the wind!

Crazy heat doesn't bother these kids!

Took a while, but they finally ran and leaped onto the hay bales
Surprising a barefoot Lou were these cacti growing in the burnt grass.

Badlands National Park
I wasn't sure what to expect from this park. Pictures of it looked amazing, but not for the typical trees and water reasons. At one time this area was actually a jungle! Due to volcanic conditions and earthquakes the land has changed quite a bit.

Bringing our love of the outdoors from O-H-I-O

There's no getting around it--the Badlands was HOT the day we were there. Especially after spending the majority of the day in an air conditioned car it was quite a shock to be out in the elements.

This girl loves her papa <3

It was strange: there were parts that made you feel like you were on a Martian planet and other reminded me of sandcastles we make at the beach by letting wet sand slip through our fingers. So odd, but amazing to see!


I read that you're not supposed to go on the trails when it's been raining. The ground becomes a glue-like mess. This was not the case when we were on the trails. The ground was very dry and cracked, and had a lot of gravel which is extremely slippery. Not something ideal when there are steep cliff one could possible fall off of. Good news: we all made it out alive!

This hike is not for the feint of heart!

The two trails we did this evening (insider tip: evening was a great time to go hiking) were the Door Trail and the Window Trail. The Window Trail was a bit more intense and there were signs that said if you have issues with heights or a variety of other concerns this was not the trail for you. Did this stop us? No! I have no idea how I made it out alive but I'm glad I did it. The sights were beautiful; it's so hard to believe that the Badlands are a part of the United States.  

We made it to the top!

Now to the KOA Badlands campground!

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