Badlands Ural: Owanka and Home

Once I merged onto I90, it was about ten miles to Wall - famous for the Wall Drug store.  Now, I don't know if Wall Drug has any drugs for sale, but if you've ever crossed the northern plains, you know from the hundreds of billboards that it has everything else!  

I did stop on this trip, but only patronized the gas station.  Though come to think of it, the Ural would look pretty cool parked in front of the Old West styled facade.  Somewhere in this blog's archives, there is a photo of my first KTM there.  That would be around ten years ago.

After my brief visit to Wall, I rode 20 more miles west and exited here - the road to Owanka.  As previously explained, the Ural is most certainly not a freeway vehicle.  But 30 miles is doable, especially if traffic is light - and it was.

The road in to Owanka (whose name is derived from the Sioux language) is paved from the north.  And what you see here is about all that's left.  Wikipedia says its population is 2.  You read that right.  There are literally a couple of people still living in this settlement, dating from 1888.  I didn't see either of them that day.

Must have been a railroad stop at one time - probably not anymore.  No trains to the west...

No trains to the east.  Looks safe to cross.

This was the only block of structures that hinted I might be "downtown."

After the bridge across Boxelder Creek, the road turned to gravel.

Winding up the plateau to the south, some nice views opened up behind me.  And the road was quite enjoyable!

Around ten miles of that and I was back at a paved road, less than half that many to the north of Highway 44.  

I'd be back in 30 minutes.  A single day trip couldn't get much better!  I'd even left some roads to look forward to next time.

And each time I pull into the garage, our new place in Rapid City feels a little more like home.

Badlands Ural: Big Foot

 

I entered the park for the second time that day on Canata Basin Road.  There was a picnic area just before the junction with the main Badlands Loop, but otherwise not much of note.

Turning generally east towards the majority of the visitor services, I soon encountered a group of about half a dozen bighorn sheep!  For some reason, they all turned their backsides to me.  Probably didn't want to squint into the low-hanging sun.

No, I didn't risk getting off the bike there (wildlife is so unpredictable), but found another more scenic spot for a photo shoot.

The lighting wasn't nearly as good this way, but why not?

Less than ten miles from Canata Basin, you come to Big Foot Pass.  But just before that is Big Foot Road.  Now Sasquatch is also known as Bigfoot (one word).  So I assume that Big Foot (two words) is referring to something else entirely - but I have no idea what (or who).

By this time it was late in the afternoon.  There were quite a few clouds, but the good weather was holding.  There is still a large portion of the park to the east, but this was another road that I'd passed several times in the car and had wanted to check out.

It should be another unpaved route out of The Badlands, this time to the north.

And as expected, I crossed the boundary after less than a mile of well-maintained gravel.

There are at least a couple more unpaved roads into the park, but they'd have to wait for my next visit.  I have an annual pass (and it's only an hour away) - so there's really no reason not to take multiple trips.  Each season here has its own unique qualities to experience.

It was still five miles farther to Interstate 90, but soon I spotted an overpass at the top of a gentle rise.  

Motoring up the on-ramp, I prepared myself for an adventure of a vastly different sort - riding the Ural on the freeway!