Got an early and quick start on the day. We spent most of the 70 miles to Interior watching prairie dogs and hawks. Relatively painless ride ending at Badlands National Park. The wind slowed us down a bit in the last 30 miles but we didn't notice…too busy taking in our first glimpses of the badlands and watching the prairie dog communities prepare for our passing. Stopped at the A&M café in Interior (pop. 47) initially for a cold drink which quickly turned into a ham and cheese with fries. The place was packed. We must have looked desperate because a young couple, Bill and Emily, offered the 2 other seats at their table of 4 to us. Bill is on his way to Denver from Chicago taking some time to see the sights with his girlfriend Emily.

It is amazing how scale is lost in a place like this. A badland formation 2 feet tall can mirror that of another formation 200 feet tall or larger. You just have no idea as you are approaching if it is small or large until you are right up next to it. The badlands are just so strange and amazing jetting out of the plains seeming out of nowhere. Up close, they just look like big piles of mud that crumble beneath you as you walk up and over them.

Why can't people pick up their trash? Or does it really matter at all anyway since the garbage trucks just take it down the road and buries it in the ground. It's sad to see such a beautiful place such as the badlands covered in litter but that was the case at the visitor center in the center of the park

The days ride was pleasant and the sky was its beautiful summertime azure blue. We got to watch a bird of prey circling over a colony of prairie dogs today that slowly flew away in dismay as the prairie dogs outsmarted it for a little while at least.