Hello Everyone,

We’ve had issues hooking up with internet so we’re going to catch up on the last few days.  Tuesday afternoon we got to Farm Island recreation area set up for the afternoon.  Unfortunately, while filling up with water I tripped over an exposed pipe and injured my bad foot (always accident prone!).  Therefore, we rested at the campsite while I iced my swollen foot but it turned out to be somewhat good luck because while sitting campsite (right on the water; Missouri River) we got 2 new birds for our life list; the Western Grebe and the Western Kingbird.  Later in the evening we took a short walk onto Farm Island and we spotted a Orchard Oriole (another new bird!) It was a short walk and we headed back to camp for the night... The next morning we explored the Island further and found many birds and beautiful scenery on the island trails. Then it was time to head out towards the Badlands. We drove around an impressive storm which seem to blossom up around here frequently.  It’s been great having the Verizon Jetpack to hook up to internet while we’re driving to check out the radar when questionable weather is in the area.  We then drove thru Badlands National Park to our campsite. This area is stunning! Once at the campsite and set up, it was time to stop and rest and recover; it was in the high 90’s and the thermometer was reading 108 in the sun! We relaxed and I iced my swollen, bruised foot.... After dinner we explored the Badlands and took a few nature trails and found some new birds along the way. There was a bad storm in the distance which thankfully stayed away from us but made great photographs :) It’s amazing to be viewing this incredible landscape that’s been here, basically unchanged, for millions of years...

By the time the sun was setting we were back at camp because I was in rough shape and needed to stop.  We enjoyed a good night’s sleep and are now headed toward’s Mount Rushmore and Custer State Park.