Badlands

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Jimbo

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Just returned from a vacation to the Black Hills and the South Dakota Badlands. For sure, as apparently the Indians told the settlers: 'land-bad'.

I wonder if Ian has had the opportunity to visit the vastness of our interior? I myself was not previously aware of the National Grasslands National Park! I took a southern scenic drive from the Badlands back to Rapid City. I drove nearly 50 miles....didn't encounter a single other vehicle in either direction! If if wasn't for extremely nasty winters, I might want to move out here!!

For reasons I cannot fully explain, I decided to ride the Greyhound! It sucked so bad that I threw away the return tickets and flew back out of Rapid City! Are you aware of exactly who rides the bus? Have you seen a bus depot lately? Not pretty....not even a bleeping Starbucks available! And Greyhound had touted the availability of WIFI on the busses and in the depots! Big Lie. The only time I had wifi availability was from 2:00AM to 6:00AM at the depot in Buffalo, Wyoming. The southbound out of Billings was running late, and we were stuck there. A MacDonalds across the parking lot was closed, but their wifi was up!
 

Terry

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A friend of mine lived in Rapid City for a while and still talks about moving back.
His take, Really hot Summers and really cold Winters. Now he's stuck in the moderate Northwest where it's neither hot or cold.
He misses the extremes.
 

Ian Gills

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Nice to see Jimbo taking the green option. I think all Americans should take the bus.

I have yet to visit the interior. That would mean going west. And they're a funny lot west of DC.

DC is west of England, and that's funny enough for little old me.
 

Jimbo

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I didn't look at it as a green option. Thought it would be an "adventure". But all the busses are locals. Had to change busses 5 times, and they don't transfer your luggage. So at every change, I had to schlep a suitcase the size of a volkswagen ( that was my other mistake...over packing!) On one leg, the light in the toilet was out, so I volunteered a little LED flashlight I was carrying.
 

Ballvalve

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Take the train and rent a car. I have been trying to get our English to outback Nevada for a long time. You can even buy Swiss army knives there - no frisking, x-rays, and the people made their money honestly, not by being a depository for dirty money and dead Jews gold teeth. Beautiful country with a dark core.

And they are smart and honest enough to allow prostitution, the greatest need for America, and the only way to settle the national debt by taxation.

That's leaving Lost vegas out of the equation.
 
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Ian Gills

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The best way to settle the debt would be to tax gas.

We all need to follow Jimbo's example and take the bus.
 

Cookie

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Jack Horner
http://discovermagazine.com/2009/dec/06-destination-science-hunting-dinosaurs-with-jack-horner

Jim, you could had camped and did a dig with Jack Horner. Whatever you find, and it is loaded with fossils, has to remain for the museum, but what an experience.

( my husband & kids and I, did a dig 70ft round once, and unearthed everything but the skull of a leaf-eating nice, friendly dino, an Apatosaurus. I got many fossils.) We also, proved that dino's walked to Harrisburg, lol., really, we did. We found evidence, that they walked the earth in the beds of water, when we found footprints in dried up waterbeds. It was believed that they were not in that area. Neat eh.

We have a passion for this stuff. I have the greatest story I could tell you about my son when he was little. Want to hear? ( you know you are going to right)

When the boys were small I would read them books about dinos and my youngest was fascinated with T-Rex. We are lucky enough to live close enough to a big enough museum which houses one. Complete, with even the skull. In the summer we would pretty much live there.

This one day during the summer, I saw my normally, elated son sitting on a bench with his head down, looking very sad, not looking happy being there with T Rex just feet away from him. I walked over and asked, " what is wrong? why are you sad?" He looked up with the biggest tears streaming down his face. Oh, my... I took him in my arms and he started to tell me, " you know mom how you read to me that when T-Rex walks he shakes the earth?" I said, " yeah..." he went on saying, " mom, that little girl over there..." pointing to a group of kids, with many little girls. I said, " which girl?"

"The girl with the metal canes" and, then I saw her, she had metal crutches. He asked me, " mom, can she feel T-Rex walk?"

That was the day, if ever a mom, could ever adore her son, I did. I saw what I was so lucky to have.

That day when we went home he disappeared into the garage and came back toting a bag much to big for him to carry, and I watched as he opened it and started to lay out on our livingroom rug the bones, the deer bones, his dad had bleached and cleaned. One day at camp we found a complete dead deer, just bones remained.

He assembled the complete deer, and sat back, thinking. Finally, he said to me, " mom, you see this bone?" I said, " yeah..." he said, " why can't the doctors give her new bones in her legs?"

This little boy, had so much compassion and still does today. So, I have a house full of rocks and bones, and everyone of them, has a story. :)

Jim, you were so lucky to be there, it is without a doubt the most amazing place to be at in the USA.

Post some pictures if you can, I would love to see them.
 
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Ballvalve

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Here is the Aldrich shale, acres of 12 million year old fossils and redwood tree parts DEEP in the desert - every 3rd split gives you something.


9-1-2011 ALDRICH FOSSILS, WALKER, MURITTA 065.jpg
 
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