We woke up to another chilly morning at Badlands National Park. The temperature extremes in the desert always amaze me. We were planning to head to the Black Hills that day so we quickly set to work packing up. As usual, I volunteered to roll up the sleeping bags and mats. It gives me an excuse to stay inside the tent where it is warmer but still be doing my part.

We said our goodbyes to our friends and were soon on our way. All of our sources said that Custer State Park in the Black Hills was a must see so we called hoping to get a campsite at Center Lake which is a same day reservation campground in the park. All the sites were taken that day, but we were told we could get a spot for the next day if we called by six am.  That left us looking for a spot for that night. We used freecampsites.net to find a forest service road in Black Hills National Forest where we could spend the night.

We did a lot of driving into the forest to find the perfect spot. We even got out and walked around at a few places but Francis is always determined to find just what he is looking for. Sometimes I just want to settle for good enough but his persistence almost always pays off with something special. This time was no exception. We found a beautiful, secluded spot that amazingly had phone and internet access! We had time for a hike up the rocks before a little rain came in then jumped in the jeep to relax for the night. Before we went to sleep, we made sure to set an alarm for 5:45 am so we could get the campsite we wanted at Custer State Park.