November 8, 2024
It was hard to believe that we had been in the Rapid area over a month already. I was feeling like we needed to take more advantage of being in this scenic area. We opted for an afternoon drive out to Badlands National Park, taking Route 44 east from Rapid for something different. The concessionaire at the park had closed the lodging, dining, and campground for the season. The visitor center was still open with reduced hours. After stopping there, we headed toward the loop drive.
One of the trails we had been eyeballing, Saddle Pass, finally had parking available at the trailhead. We love off-season! Saddle Pass is a short, but strenuous, climb that connects to longer trails at the summit. We felt we were too late in the day to take a loop trail at the summit, but we did make the climb. We were quite thankful for hiking poles to aid our way up and down. Beautiful views gave us plenty of opportunity for breaks.
We finished our day with a stop at Wall Drug and dinner next door at the Salty Steer. : )
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| Bighorn sheep by the road |
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| Beginning of Saddle Pass Trail |
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| At the top |
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| Spurs for sale at Wall Drug |
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