I got up early today to head out for a hike with ranger Kelly. We drove out to the Door trail with the intention of finding the way down to the base of all the formations so we could hike out and over to Big Badlands. I've been told about the route by a couple rangers over the years, so felt reasonably confident I knew where we were going. In the end, we did not find a passable route, everything led to steep drop offs. Talking to another ranger friend later in the day, it seems I either misremembered or was mistold the route. So, that one stays on the list of places I want to go here.

When we got back out from our hike, I had a text message waiting for me with an invitation to ride along out to a ranch I haven't visited before. I jumped at the chance, and we took back roads all over, my friend pointing out the lands of many of the original ranching families. With Badlands in view much of the time, it felt like a drive through the history of the area, and the setting for the park. A very cool experience, and I now feel I have a better understanding of many of the people and histories of the area.

In the early afternoon I worked on my painting some more. Later I headed over to the visitor center to meet with my main contact at the park to discuss my education programs and other things. After a phone conversation with my family, I cooked dinner for a friend and we had a lengthy discussion about what I do here, what I'd like to continue to do here, and thoughts on the artist-in-residence programs at national parks and how they fits into the context of modern life. Some good stuff.