Badlands and other stories

We had hoped that we would learn some of life's great lessons on this trip and our second day provided a BIG one.  Objects on a map are farther away than they appear.   

Consistent in our lack of preparation, we set out on Day 2 thinking we had a bout a 3 hour trip to the Blackhills in South Dakota.  We fired up the GPS and it indicated it was approximately twice that far.  Mental note, check distances the night before leaving.

About an hour or so into the trip the sky became ominous!  Satellite radio does not provide local weather updates ( at least not on the 70s channel )  and my attempt to find a local channel failed.  We pulled into a rest area and rode out the storm. Luckily the tornados passed over us and went north. Watching the spinning clouds above was humbling however. 

Once the sky began to clear we were on the road again. We crossed the Missouri River as the storm moved north. 

 Badlands National Park was just as beautiful as we had remembered from 31 years ago.  What an amazing world God has created!