The Badlands were an unexpected, awe-inspiring sight. Not a single picture could or has ever done it justice although we certainly tried through a myriad of lenses yesterday. Exploring that grandeur was not only a highlight of this trip, but certainly one of all my travels. Surprises like a field of wild prairie dogs and vistas around every bend will not soon be forgotten.
What I do hope to forget is the rather tragic fly situation going on in western South Dakota. Being amongst its residents for the last week, I feel like they are a proud people–private by nature and not really apt to share their plight–but the insect situation is approaching dire. This plague is well past Pinterest solutions and in need of its own hashtag. Send fly traps.
Our campsite succumbed and we tried the penny in the plastic bag of water trick–the flies broke them open and used the money to buy booze and party favors and invited more friends to the party. In desperation, we bought some weird contraption that–pardon my graphic and crude description–smelled like diarrhea but was so effective that we were willing to trade off the odor for the relief. Glue strips hung from the rafters and again, were absolutely disgusting, but so are gross flies. We were able to leave them behind, but the folks of SD need help, people.
We made the trip to the famous Wall Drug for their free ice water and 5 cent coffee.
After a couple of cups of that, the nickels might have been better spent in the plastic bags of water.
Dishing From Others