The trade-off of a short travel day is that loading up the truck and driving that first mile isn’t nearly as attractive as languishing in bed. Inertia is a warm, confortable bed and a cool summer breeze wafting through the windows. And sometimes, that’s more important than moving on. When, after the age of five or in college or Vegas, do we ever get to wake according to a natural clock?

The drive from Badlands NP to Hill City, SD showed around two hours on the map, but we added another 45 minutes simply by taking our time through traffic in Rapid City and absorbing the scenery along the curves through the Black Hills. We arrived at the Rafter J-Bar Resort (and campground) by 2:00p and set up camp very quickly. Hunger is a powerful incentive for efficiency and the boys did an excellent job helping us get everything prepped for our six-night stay.

We found a great restaurant in town, Desperados. Fresh ingredients, clean interior, friendly staff, tasty vegetarian options and reasonable prices puts it on the “highly recommend” list.