It has been a long and tiring winter and spring has been slow to arrive. We both have been ailing. Jim slipped on the ice and fractured three ribs and I’ve been struggling with Lyme disease since our February Channel Islands National Park adventure. Thus, it was that we were both delighted to be able to pack up the car and head to the North Dakota Badlands for this past weekend.

We visited Sully Creek State Park, where Lizzie, our springer spaniel, happily took a swim in the Little Missouri River. We saw trail riders and three guys kayaking on the river, and we scoped out a promising campsite for a future visit.

Onward to Theodore Roosevelt National Park, where my elder sister, who works in the entrance station, was taking down the flag for the day. My family has deep ties to the park.

The wildlife in the park was abundant and we spied our first baby bison of the season.

Jim pointed out that normally on such a spring day, we would have climbed Bullion Butte or canoed the river. Alas, his healing ribs say no to that. Nonetheless, we were rejuvenated by our wild Badlands time and immediately began planning our next.