Tuesday, July 5th, 2016
We spent our day in the Badlands! Easily one of the best days yet.
Our hosts provided a delicious breakfast this morning. Our routine was a little different than usual, though, because we made an adjustment to our ride. Today was supposed to be a 100 mile day, but our wonderful ride leaders realized that if we rode 70 miles to the badlands we would not be able to enjoy them. Additionally, we have had many long days recently, and they wanted our day to be a little easier. We were all so, so grateful, and we really had a fantastic day as a result.
We shuttled to mile 43, and rode 20 miles to the entrance of the national park. We gained an hour when we crossed into the mountain time zone, so we really had all day to enjoy the scenery.
We got to ride on the 30 mile byway among the rock formations all day, and we stopped frequently to climb and take pictures.
We also collected a portrait with Lowell and Kathi, a couple on vacation. Lowell has been battling a rare type of lymphoma, and Kathi has been his support. They talked a lot about how they supported each other and how since they have been through this experience they are quick to lend a helping hand to anyone experiencing cancer. You could tell they were very close and it was great to see them celebrating a long period of treatment with a vacation.
We are staying at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Wall. They had a great dinner waiting for us, something we are always thankful for.
It seems the entire town of Wall revolves around Wall Drug. We are planning on going on our way out of town tomorrow and are excited to see what it’s all about. Rumor has it they have fantastic donuts.
DR