Just returned home from a nice scouting trip to Wyoming with my family. Had a great trip and am pretty happy with the tags I drew after seeing what lives in the units. I've been hunting out west for the past 5 years now and am absolutely addicted. My wife is a high school teacher, so unfortunately, she can't tag along on my hunts due to work. Knowing how badly she wanted to see the west (and take a vacation) I planned a trip for her, myself, and my 2 year old boy, Reed.
The plan was to leave Ohio and make it to the Badlands, SD to explore and camp for a day. The car trip alone was ambitious. Thankfully, we planned it around my kid sleeping and made it with no issue. I am abundantly thankful for a well mannered, well behaved child!!!
We arrived in Badlands National Park, drove a small part of the area and registered for a campsite at the campground. Typically, I find some BLM or a rest area to sleep (because I'm cheap) but with the family, we opted to pay a few bucks. It was worth it though. The ready-made campsite was a good starting point for a wife and kid who had never camped before.
We were pretty cozy the first night in out tents. My wife and I slept in my Badlands Mirage tent, of course we bought an air mattress for the trip. (I'm not exactly mad about it) Reed made use of my old backpacking tent, a child's cot, and a few comforts from home. He slept like....well...a baby.
Exploring the Badlands was pretty cool and worth the stop. It was blazing hot so we kept the hikes short. During an evening drive, I spotted a Bighorn off in the distance. Being in a park, it wasn't exactly a "spooky" sheep. But still really cool to see and take a million pictures of. I ended up seeing 3 different rams during that evening.
My wife and kid were amazed by the scenery and so far, loving the west!
We left SD early the next day and headed to Wyoming. I have a region Y tag and wanted to explore the Bighorns a little. With a combo of OnXMaps and Google Earth, I picked a campground on the map, put the coordinates in my GPS...and off we went. My wife and Reed both fell asleep as we approached the bumpy, steep, dirt and rock road heading up the mountain. I've driven these enough to not be uneasy on them, but I figured I'd let those 2 sleep. Of course we hit a cattle gate immediately before going up hill and woke them both up. My wife's knuckles were white and Reed antagonized "it's gonna hurt if we fall off." We snapped a few pictures on the way up and eventually made it to a beautiful mountain meadow.
We made it to the campground, which to my surprise, required a small fee to stay. It was a really nice site and my wife was in love with it, so we forked out $28 (for 2 nights) and set up camp. As darkness approached, I grabbed my spotter and bino's and went for a hike. Glassing some tall grass I saw some pretty cool velvet!
The plan was to leave Ohio and make it to the Badlands, SD to explore and camp for a day. The car trip alone was ambitious. Thankfully, we planned it around my kid sleeping and made it with no issue. I am abundantly thankful for a well mannered, well behaved child!!!
We arrived in Badlands National Park, drove a small part of the area and registered for a campsite at the campground. Typically, I find some BLM or a rest area to sleep (because I'm cheap) but with the family, we opted to pay a few bucks. It was worth it though. The ready-made campsite was a good starting point for a wife and kid who had never camped before.
We were pretty cozy the first night in out tents. My wife and I slept in my Badlands Mirage tent, of course we bought an air mattress for the trip. (I'm not exactly mad about it) Reed made use of my old backpacking tent, a child's cot, and a few comforts from home. He slept like....well...a baby.
Exploring the Badlands was pretty cool and worth the stop. It was blazing hot so we kept the hikes short. During an evening drive, I spotted a Bighorn off in the distance. Being in a park, it wasn't exactly a "spooky" sheep. But still really cool to see and take a million pictures of. I ended up seeing 3 different rams during that evening.
My wife and kid were amazed by the scenery and so far, loving the west!
We left SD early the next day and headed to Wyoming. I have a region Y tag and wanted to explore the Bighorns a little. With a combo of OnXMaps and Google Earth, I picked a campground on the map, put the coordinates in my GPS...and off we went. My wife and Reed both fell asleep as we approached the bumpy, steep, dirt and rock road heading up the mountain. I've driven these enough to not be uneasy on them, but I figured I'd let those 2 sleep. Of course we hit a cattle gate immediately before going up hill and woke them both up. My wife's knuckles were white and Reed antagonized "it's gonna hurt if we fall off." We snapped a few pictures on the way up and eventually made it to a beautiful mountain meadow.
We made it to the campground, which to my surprise, required a small fee to stay. It was a really nice site and my wife was in love with it, so we forked out $28 (for 2 nights) and set up camp. As darkness approached, I grabbed my spotter and bino's and went for a hike. Glassing some tall grass I saw some pretty cool velvet!
Last edited:
