Making Our Way Back Home

Well, we knew from the time we left San Francisco last Sunday that the rest of the trip was all about heading east and getting back home. Grand Teton, Yellowstone, and the Badlands were part of that trek east, but that still left a few more days (and stops) to get there.

The first of those stops was in the Minneopa State Park, which is located just east of Mankato, Minnesota. Like I mentioned in the previous post, this was a place chose solely because it was on the way home and about 6-7 hours away from the Badlands National Park.

After driving on a bunch of back roads at times through South Dakota and Minnesota, the state park and campground seem to come out of nowhere. Our site was located in the back part of the campground, and with all neighboring sites unoccupied, it made for a very private site.

Despite the happy smiles on the faces above, we weren't too happy about the mosquito village we seemed to invade. The fire proved necessary to help keep some of those pesky bugs away.

These Are the Baaaaaaaaadlands

Sleeping in this open campground in a field in the Badlands of South Dakota was pretty interesting. At some point in the night, Ethan and I awoke to the sound of something howling off in the distance. I think all of us eventually heard it, too.

They were coyotes and the pack was moving quickly because, a minute later, we heard them on the other side of the campground. It was both fascinating and frightening. I guess that's why they have you park around the campground and set up your tents inside the loop.

Still, it was a really cool place to spend the night. And this is what we woke up to in the morning:

There were also some prairie dogs moving around in the campground in the morning. Actually, there are prairie dogs everywhere in this park. They're definitely the cutest animal we saw this trip.