175 miles16 mpg

$39.04: Badlands National Park (electric site)

It was hard to leave Devils Tower. Although it promised to be a blistering day, the morning was glorious. So I took a hike around the tower at daybreak.

You’re allowed to rock climb with a permit. Check out these trail names.

I was on the fence about leaving the campground today, but decided to soldier on.

I said goodbye to the prairie dogs.

And they greeted me again in Badlands – 175 miles away. They seem bigger.

I had thought about getting further today, but I wanted to squeeze one more camping night out of the Wild West before I spent three days paying tolls for the privilege of looking at corn.

We had driven through Badlands on the way west two weeks ago, but the campground isn’t far from the highway. I snagged the last electric site (someone cancelled), and the AC is still trying to get the trailer below 80.

Note to Airstream HQ: the 23D is 21% larger than the 19, with a lot more glass, and yet it has the same BTU AC. In every situation I’ve needed it so far, I can assure you it’s not enough.

Looking forward to a nice sunset and maybe another thunderstorm.

Can I get home in 2 epically long days? Or maybe just 3 long days. 1600+ miles to go. Probably three.