Day 2

Today we woke up at about 6:30 in the morning in order to get an early start on the day’s travels.  We have yet to streamline the process of packing up and moving out, so we didn't end up hitting the road until about 8:30.  This time included a breakfast consisting of scrambled eggs cooked over the campfire, doughnuts, and coffee, as well as showers and a vast reorganizing of the car.  The concept of entropy, the tendency of things moving towards a state of chaos, has really evidenced itself on this journey.  By the end of each segment of the trip, our car is in shambles.  After finally getting on the road, we set out for what would be roughly a 10 hour trip from last night’s camp site to Badlands, South Dakota.  We have quite the system down for driver schedules, with each person having a consistent partner.  Each pair rotates from driver, to middle seats, to the back, and then back to driver.  Everyone drives and nobody drives alone, which has allowed us to drive for long distances at a time, stopping only to switch pairs.  One such stop was at a McDonalds in Sioux Falls, SD, where we asked the manager if there was anything interesting to do in town and he responded with, “No.  Keep on driving.”  So that we did!  And by around 8:00 PM that evening we found ourselves in Badlands.  This was by far the most amazing part of our trip so far.  The scenery was absolutely spectacular, like something out of a photo shopped movie.  We were there right around sunset, which was draping the already striking buttes in radiant orange and red hues.  We closed the night out by sitting behind our tents, looking at the brilliant stars, and singing along to Dave playing the guitar.  Cliché?  Yes.  But clichés are clichés for a reason, and that will easily be one of the most memorable nights of our journey. 

- Evan

Making breakfast

Repacking the car

Sunset in Badlands

Beautiful landscapes

Group photo

Our camp site

Tent assembly