Holy Wind Batman!

Shortly after tucking in for the night last night, we heard a howling wind arrive out of nowhere, it had been dead calm when we arrived, but overnight, 40mph winds blew in and gusted north of 50-60mph throughout the majority of the day today.  It was buffetting the truck and moving us around like ragdolls while we made our way around Badlands National park.  The views were spectacular and some of the most unique landscapes either of us has seen.  I lost a pair of sunglasses down a ravine during one of the stronger gusts, the wind blew them clear off my face.  Did I mention it was windy?  The colors were fantastic and some of the formations were rainbow like.  There were herds of Buffalo and Prarie Dog 'villages', they scurried around even with the wind.  We managed to get a good day of hiking in and still finished early enough to make it to Mount Rushmore for the lighting ceremony.  The monument was truly inspiring and the ceremony evoked patriotism and pride.  We were glad to have been there to experience it, cold, but glad.  Tomorrow will hopefully be a few scenic drives, one taking us past Devil's Tower, and the other a trip up Beartooth Highway as we enter Yellowstone for some more hiking and good camping.