I’m sure there are some folks who do not share my fascination with the Badlands of South Dakota. We all have our likes, dislikes and “Eh’s”. For me, I’m drawn here. It started several years ago when I was exploring ‘workcamping’ opportunities that produced a nice interview with Sharon Bies at the Cedar Pass Lodge. Ultimately, I was not able to accept the position offered at that time, however, the research I did during the process, prompted a journey there a few years later.
That was a side trip on my way to a short lived radio position, as I spent most of a day driving the loop through the Badlands National Park taking numerous photos along the way.
For this visit, I simply wanted to return to the Nomad View Overlook Dispersed Camping site that Bentley and I took in 2020 traveling with our ‘Lil Red Micro Minnie. Deborah came along with us on this 2021 adventure. She had never been here, and I was curious to gauge her reaction. Bentley seemed pleased with our return.
Turns out that Deborah was very impressed with the amazing topography and the spectacular views from our camping site along the ridge. She was able to capture some excellent images to use in her photography sideline.
Unlike my first trip to the Overlook, finding an excellent level site was not difficult, the like minded ‘Nomads’ were fewer in number this weekend. Mother Nature provided cool temps, a few light showers here and there, plus the usual wind, just not as strong as they can be.
Although we had our 3500 watt generator with us, we only had to start it up a few times for minimal lengths to accomplish some tasks, so I’m sure our ‘neighbors’ weren’t too upset. (Our Predator is very quiet compared to some of the other camper’s units, and we didn’t run it overnight at all).
This is a fantastic spot to call home for a few days, and you can’t beat the price tag of $0.00. The location is only about 2 miles north of the entrance to Badlands National Park, and most of the folks who stay here to boondock, will leave the unit in place, and drive through the Park to enjoy the magnificent sights. (Our Lifetime Senior Pass that I’ve had for years that cost $10 at the time, gets us in for $0.00).
Now if we can only find gas for $0.00 per gallon.
Our provisions were more than adequate to see us through the four day stay, and of course, after we had secured the travel trailer and left the site cleaner than when we found it on arrival, we did take some time to visit the mainstay of Wall, South Dakota’s existence.
