We got up, made and ate breakfast, packed up the tent and set out for the Badlands. On our way out of Custer State Park we saw more bighorn sheep, some of them on the road, and bison.

We got gas and on our way to the Badlands we realized he have driven over 5,000 miles. Also, gas gets cheaper the further East we go.

We didn't end up taking the road we intended to take into the Badlands so we had to adjust and take a side road up into the park, drive east a bit then backtrack and drove west. We stopped at the viewpoints, walked the Fossil Trail and then stopped at the Visitor Center to pick up the Junior Ranger books. Since the Visitor Center is at the edge of the park, we soon then exited the park and the boys and I completed their books in the car since the ranger gave us the badges with the books.

We then drove to Palisades State Park in South Dakota and saw lots of sunflower fields. Unfortunately the sunflowers had already bloomed but we could tell the fields were really pretty. On our way to the park we picked up firewood at a gas station. We camped at site #20. The sun had already set when we got there so we sat up camp, fixed dinner and ate in the dark. We enjoyed the campfire until about 10 pm and a Seth enjoyed the train that runs alongside the campground. The train honked its horn loudly and must have stopped because it made a horribly loud sound that went up and down the train track. There were a few trains that went down the tracks during night.

We all walked down to the shower house together to get ready for bed. Yes, I was yet again excited for running water, soap and flushing toilets. We were a little bummed that we lost an hour of time due to crossing the time zone.