We found a campsite and couldn't have been happier with the location. We were on a river bank overlooking the Little Missouri and had the hills of the northern Badlands surrounding us. We went for a short hike and found a big bison hiding around the corner of a spur we almost went down. It was much more fun to watch it from a short distance across a gully. We then went into town for an ice cream treat. The kids fell asleep quickly and we weren't far behind them.
The next morning had me up at dawn for a little solo birding and by the time I got back to the tent just about everyone was up and moving. We had breakfast and then headed out for the driving loop through the park. Before long we came across another bison crossing the road and we followed him to a large herd. About 70 bison including lots of calves were feeding among the prairie dogs and it was the coolest sight of the trip to date.
The driving loop had several trails along the way. The first one we hiked led us up a ridge and we had panoramic views of the park. The next trail took us through a prairie dog town and they barked the entire time we walked through them. Our last hike led us through a coal vein among the hills. It was pretty cool seeing the thin, dark layer among all of the colorful rocks. Our final stop was the visitor center and a tour of Theodore Roosevelt's cabin from when he had a cattle ranch out here.
We went back to the campground and the kids played in the muddy river for awhile. Once we got them cleaned up we went into town for dinner. The girls and I ate some bison burgers before setting up our chairs by the car. We were settling in for the Fourth of July fireworks show and the town put on a great one. Sully fell asleep before the main event, but the girls were awed by the display. It was a great way to spend our last night in the park.
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