Day 87, friendly people in a desolate place

Mary Jean and Brian ventured over to my site early in the morning. I had just finished my coffee, starting to pack my bags.

They were heading out to explore the Badlands and go hiking.

Safe travels, I enjoyed your company. Have a great adventure to San Diego!

I started back on the dirt road, which ran another ten miles until it met the main paved road through the Badlands.

But just beyond the campsite, a large heard of Bison grazed near the road. I stopped and asked a guy taking pictures of them how I should proceed.

They're a bit too close for comfort.

The bison were close to the road, and I am not sure how they would behave around a bicycle. He said, ride slowly past them - if their tail goes up, that means they are annoyed. And avoid any bull / cow pairs.

Ok, I'll give that a try...

That did not work as planned.

The bison ran alongside the road, and about a hundred feet in front of me, crossed the road and stopped. Completely unsure what to do, I peeked over my shoulder and saw the photographer piling his equipment in his Prius and drove towards me.

He said that he would drive along side me to get through the heard.

It worked, but that moment was probably the most terrified I've been on this trip. Don't mess around with a heard of 2000 pound animals that can run 30 miles per hour.

At a little scenic (no, not the town) viewpoint, I ran into fellow campers Carol & Morris. From Virginia, they're on an adventure in their cleverly efficient camper van. Intrigued with campers, they showed me the inside - equipped with a restroom, queen size bed, sink, shower, refrigerator... the list goes on.

We also talked about living life to the fullest - it is important to explore, adventure and experience new things.

Carol & Morris, I enjoyed our chat and hope to see you again when I'm in Virginia. Safe travels!

The grasslands quickly gave way to the Badlands' famed features: a martian-like landscape.

Right in the middle of the national park, I met a walker named William. He has been on the road for over two years, exploring everything. In fact, he had already passed by the Badlands, but doubled back, thinking he would regret not experiencing it. Equipped with a backpack and another pack slung across his shoulder, he is carrying all the gear necessary to survive.

And I complain about the weight on my bike.

I have nothing but admiration for William - hopefully our paths cross again.

In the middle of the afternoon, I arrived at the Visitor Center. It was a whirlwind of talking with other people and learning about their travels & lives.

I met two more Virginians, traveling in a converted Dodge 1500 van. As you know by now, that is my ideal camper project, so I had to look inside. Eric & Jessica showed me their rig - I am inspired. In fact, so amazed by their DIY conversion that I forgot to pull out a camera to take a picture of it.

That is okay though - we plan on meeting up in Virginia. Eric & Jessica, see you then! Jessica, can you send me info about the guy that unicycled the Continental Divide Trail, and how to get one of those hats you were wearing...? Thanks!

Towards the end of our conversation, Alex, from Austria, asked if I had any patch kits. He is on a similar bicycle tour (although complemented with a car) and both of his tires were flat. And he already consumed his tube patches.

Definitely.

We put the bike in the shade and started patching his tubes. My glue & rubber kit had been destroyed (by the heat, I think), but thankfully I still had six of those quick-fix patches.

Within thirty minutes he was up and running! We made very loose plans to tour Austria and Germany by bike one day.

And then I was off, straight into the prairie with the Badlands disappearing behind me.

More endless fields and dirt roads.

Joe