The Bison And The Badlands

Monday 8/25/08

We stopped for breakfast at McDonalds outside of Yellowstone and reaffirmed our original plan to avoid national parks because of summer tourist crowds and the inevitable slowing of time to get back east. Many vehicles dotted the edge of the road as fishermen took to the streams alongside. In Bozeman, Montana, we stopped in to visit Fins and Feathers, a well known fly shop who just happens to be the only Orvis dealer in the town.

The road stretched out before us with farms on either side, irrigation equipment watering the crops, and bales of hay rolled in perfectly golden fields.

Just before sunset, we stopped at a scenic overlook of The Painted Canyon in the Badlands. Large rock formations stretched out before us as far as the eye could see. Every once in a while, we could focus enough to see the bison feeding below. Apparently it is common for these large beasts to roam the rest area and scenic overlook as well, evidenced by warning notices of their presence and the occasional bison pie left in the grass.













As the sun disappeared over the horizon, it washed the canyon walls in a symphony of color and shadow too beautiful to describe. As we continued east through dark, broad countryside, absent of any city lights, the stars emerged and put on a display that rivaled any we had ever seen. It reminded us of the view from Paardeberg Mountain in South Africa, on the other side of the world.





We pulled in to the Days Inn for the night, and met a couple who had been curiously inspecting our little car as we went in to make reservations. They were originally from Norway and the Netherlands, but had been living in Vienna, Virginia for the last 4 years as the man worked for the Embassy in D.C. Small world! They, too, were on a road trip to explore the U.S., but would be heading back to Europe by the end of this year. As we parked the Egg for the night, we noticed that the noise had gotten louder, and we knew that we’d have to check it out tomorrow before leaving town.