Can there be more?

New Brighton, MN


Hello,



Yesterday, in Wall, SD, we got up early to see that last loop of the badlands and drive over 500 miles to Brian’s house. Even as we loaded the car and ate breakfast before seven, we wondered if it was wise to add time to our long day. The sun was just edging up to brighten all of the landscape when we headed out. The first thing we saw was a dead coyote alongside the road and hoped that was not a sign of things to come.



The formations were breathtaking and amazing. Certainly it was worth it to take this time. Even though we had planned to just keep moving we stopped from time to time in the pull offs just to savor the view.



Going around a bend and down a hill we came upon a small group of prong horn antelope with some on each side of the road. Most of them had gotten up and were already foraging, but a couple were still lying down. Was this their night resting place? We took a couple of pictures and then it said the camera disk was full. We drove a short distance, but Leroy said, “I am going to get out the computer, download the pictures, and delete the rest so we can go back and take more pictures.”



I agreed as this seemed so much more important than meeting a more or less self imposed schedule. If we had to, we could stay one more night in a hotel someplace.



Leroy got the job done, turned the car around, and we took more pictures even though the animals had moved slightly. By the way it was a different type of beauty to have the morning sun highlighting the hills with increasing intensity.



The next animal display was a deer running up to the road and across. This was a buck with trophy status antlers that was springing or leaping off into the distance.



All of this time we are saying, “Look at that, look at this.” It was wonderful.



“Good heavens, are they running on the side of the hill?” Leroy wondered.



Sure enough it was a herd of the pronghorns. At least three of them were running, not walking, but running on the side of the steep sloop that no human could walk on unaided, or at least it looked that way. Both of us felt it was an impossibility for these animals to stick to it. One saw us, stopped, and looked before it ran on.



Just when we thought we had seen it all we saw a prairie dog town with some early dogs out talking in the sunshine. It was a wonderful drive and well worth the effort.



Paula