Yesterday afternoon, a large party pulled into the Albert Lee, Minnesota KOA into the sites on both sides of the van. On the driver’s side of the van was a 30 foot RV pulling a trailer with two fancy jeeps. On the passenger’s side of the van were two pickup trucks each pulling a trailer with a serious off-road vehicle.
On Sunday morning, I noticed one of the guys was wearing a Battleship North Carolina t-shirt. Another one of the guys noticed the NC tag on my van and asked me where I was from. Turns out we are all from Raleigh, NC! I’ve heard a lot of stories like this – being far from home and running into folks from the same place. I can’t remember where they were off roading, but since they were in the area they are going to go to Yellowstone for the first time. Their caravan passed me twice today and waved while driving down I-90 on the way to South Dakota.
It was a rainy and cold drive to Badlands/White River KOA. At least the rain let up about 30 minutes before arriving to the campground. I was disappointed that I had to drive through Badlands National Park to get to the KOA campground. I was hoping to save the park for Monday. But after months of waiting I’m finally here. I look forward to start exploring the park tomorrow!