Mall of America and The Badlands (Days 5-8)
Hi! My name is Charles, and I visited every contiguous U.S. state in the same trip. Learn more about me and my travels in "Road Trip w/ Charlie!"
Today, we're exploring the Mall of America, Badlands National Park, and more!
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After departing the Cave of the Mounds in Wisconsin, I made the trek to Minneapolis to stay with my friend, Blake, for a few days. He had just moved into his new apartment in the city at the time, and it was his first time living on his own.
I was excited to see his new place and check in on how he was doing, and we made plans to visit some various places in Minneapolis together, including a quick trip to IKEA for some new furniture.
But first, we made off for the famed Mall of America, known for its sprawling corridors of stores and various other attractions, such as an aquarium and a Nickelodeon amusement park. This is gonna be a long one. Let’s dive in!
Interested in learning more about how this road trip began? Feel free to explore more of our available articles from “Road Trip w/ Charlie” (listed in chronological order).
Day 5: Mall of America
Blake graciously offered to drive us around during my stay. I think we both were afraid that I would lose my highly coveted parking spot if we used my car, and I was appreciative to give my tired Honda Civic a short break. The poor car had been through a lot so far.
I remember viewing the mall from the outside as we were walking in and thinking to myself that it looked a little smaller than I had expected. Upon entering the building, these thoughts were immediately dashed, and I was fully unprepared for just how large this mall actually was. I mean, in what other mall can you fit an entire theme park inside of it? Well, perhaps there may be one in the New Jersey update…
We walked forward for a few short moments before we were greeted by the entrance to the aforementioned Nickelodeon Universe theme park. Spanning seven (7) acres with approximately twenty-seven (27) different attractions, this park was impressive, and I never would have previously thought something of this size could fit inside of what appeared to be an ordinary shopping mall from the outside. Though we did not endeavor to ride any of the rides in the kid-friendly park, we were able to walk through it freely and explore what Nickelodeon Universe had to offer, pointing out favorite cartoon characters and reminiscing on early adolescence.
Upon exiting Nickelodeon Universe, we found ourselves amongst a LEGO store, an IT’SUGAR candy store (complete with a dedicated Oreo floor, adorned with a ceiling-sized Oreo hanging like a chandelier), and much more. Exploring the LEGO store for a brief moment, I spied an Optimus Prime figure that I had never seen before. I was amazed that it could still be configured to transform from robot mode into car mode, despite its LEGO construction. I made a mental note to pick it up after the trip, and I am proud to say that I am looking at it as I type!
Afterwards, we spent a couple more hours roaming the mall, taking in all of its many sights, from arcades to boutiques and from coffee shops to fine dining.
We ate at Shake Shack when we decided we needed some rest from the walking. This was my first time eating at Shake Shack, and while pricey, it was pleasantly better than I expected from a fast-food chain.
We eventually located an axe-throwing place inside of the mall on one of the upper floors, and we spent a little time there as I experienced yet another “first time” event. The axe was harder to throw than it looked and required more force to stick into the wood than I thought. I’m still stunned that they offered me alcohol while I was throwing! The axe kept flying in all different directions or bouncing off the wood when I actually managed to toss it at an adequate angle. It took me more tries than I’d like to mention in order to finally get the bullseye seen below (which Blake was impishly enthusiastic to record for me to immortalize my failed attempts).
Once my time limit had been reached, ego thoroughly bruised, I sought out the Mall of America’s SEA LIFE Aquarium located beneath the mall’s lowest floors. Blake took this as an opportunity to try out a new coffee shop, and we momentarily parted ways as I rode the escalator down into a much moodier and atmospheric setting.
The mall’s basement felt entirely separate from the whole rest of the building, with a more claustrophobic and darker ambiance juxtaposing the vibrant sea life and clear waters. It almost felt as if the fish were watching you instead of the typical aquarium dynamic, and this was exemplified by a large, glass tunnel that made for a truly beautiful sight as I walked down the designated pathways.
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After leaving the aquarium, Blake and I decided to call it a day, having spent a sufficient amount of time at the Mall of America to see most of what it had to offer. We made our way to the parking lot, and I began to make plans to see a nearby zoo in Minneapolis, the Como Park Zoo & Conservatory!
Day 6: Como Park Zoo & Conservatory
After our visit to the Mall of America, Blake had to run some errands during the next day, allowing me to explore the Como Park Zoo & Conservatory at my own pace. To get there, I decided to take the local METRO public transportation system, making sure that the little cash that I had on me would be enough to ride the bus there and back.
A short (and bumpy) trip later and I arrived at the Como Park Zoo, seeing first the giant glass structure that housed much of the conservatory’s garden areas.
I decided to begin with seeing the animals in the zoo, having not been to a zoo in a while. The zoo featured all sorts of different animals, including sloths, giraffes, polar bears, tigers, gorillas, seals, penguins, and more!
My favorite interaction I observed during my visit was between the lions, with the lioness walking over to the lounging lion and nudging it to get its attention. Very relatable.
I saw the conservatory portion of the building after spending some time with the animals, and I was awestruck by the greenery that overtook the rooms. You almost couldn’t turn your head without seeing some sort of exotic and wonderful plant, and I spent a great deal of time marveling in the natural beauty that could be found across the planet.
During my visit, there was also a special exhibit that put a spotlight on tiny bonsai-esque trees of all sorts of different colors and shapes. These trees looked picture-perfect and well cared for, and my favorite was a red bonsai tree that reminded me of autumn.
When I had seen all that the Como Park Zoo & Conservatory had to offer, I located the nearest bus stop and traveled back to Blake’s apartment in the city.
It was our last full day together before it was time to venture off and continue the road trip, and he graciously allowed me to do some laundry before it was time to go.
Where was I headed next? The Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park in North Dakota!
Day 7: Traveling
The majority of this day was spent traveling and was largely uneventful. In my footage archives, I have an uninteresting video of me also getting a car wash on this day, which my car desperately needed at this point.
The journey from Minneapolis to Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park exceeded the maximum amount of time of about 6 hours I had allotted for a single duration during the road trip, and as such, I decided to split it up over two days. Was the extra thirty minutes to an hour going to kill me? Probably not. But, I figured it was better to take my rest time seriously and pace myself if I was going to see this whole thing through, and setting up good habits early definitely helped me in the long run.
On the next day, I finally arrived at the Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park in sunny North Dakota. As you may be able to tell by the snow, I am being partially facetious.
Established in 1907, this state park is the oldest in all of North Dakota, dedicating much of its resources into preserving the reconstructed earthlodges originally built by the Mandan Native Americans that once lived there.
Shortly after parking, I was greeted with over a foot of snow covering all semblances of any walkways that might have existed leading into the building seen in the video below.
Putting on my thickest shoes, I chanced my luck with a pathway I was able to see further along beside the building, leading to a wooden stairway. At the end of the stairway was a large hill. At this point, I was completely lost. No markers to guide me, I made my way up the hill until I reached a large, open field.
Scattered across the field were the reconstructed earthlodges, about four feet tall each, if I am recalling correctly. As the lodges were reconstructed by the state park officials, any comment on their original craftsmanship would likely be misattributed. Their original constructions would be a testament to natural human resourcefulness. The existence of their reconstructions serve as a painful reminder of the harsh mistreatment of Native Americans by this country’s forefathers.
Pushing idle thoughts (and heapfuls of snow) aside, I walked towards the edge of the hill and looked out across at the horizon.
Internally deciding that I had visited during a time of the year with unideal weather, I made my way towards South Dakota. Because I had left early, I made time for an unscheduled stop on my road trip, which would end up being one of my favorite locations I saw: The Badlands National Park!
Day 8: The Badlands National Park
If you only see one National Park in your whole lifetime, it should be this one. I’ll stand by that statement.
The Badlands National Park in South Dakota is a rocky and rugged valley that is sure to bring out your inner adventure. Looking like somewhere the events of The Lion King would have taken place, The Badlands has many different trails of varying levels of difficulty for you to explore.
The first trail I went on was a largely flat open landscape that congratulated you upon reaching the end of the trail with an unceremonious sign, simply reading “END OF TRAIL.” The walk was no picnic, however, as holes and rocks and gaps littered the ground, making the trail feel akin to leaping from one rock to another, how one might cross a flowing stream of water.
Itching for a sense of thrill, this trail left my dangerous side wanting more as I sought out another trail that might make for a greater challenge (with an equally great view as reward).
Walking through the bottom of a valley with some greenery and steep slopes, I spotted a change of elevation in the form of a rickety-looking ladder.
Looking down atop the valley I had once walked along, I was several stories up in the air. One wrong move could send me tumbling down.
I was alive.
The trail only got more difficult as I walked along. Footholds got smaller and passages got narrower and narrower. I had to shimmy my way across a teetering edge at one point to get to the other side of the canyon, where you could then peer off the side of the cliff, resulting in the following gorgeous view:
I silently thanked myself for making the last-minute decision to come. I would have missed out on one of the greatest experiences of my life.
As I would shortly come to find out, I also would have missed out on one of the scariest experiences of my life. But more on that later…
Reaching the end of this second trail, I made my way back to my car and drove to another portion of the The Badlands, where a different set of trails awaited. These trails were much steeper, reaching the same tall heights as the previous trail, but with no ladders available to make the climb more friendly.
I inadvertently picked a trail that wrapped around itself in several twists and turns as the elevation grew steeper, similar in feeling to how it would feel to climb a spiral staircase, if that spiral staircase was made of rock, was weathered down to unsafe angles, and showed you how far away you were getting from your car with every step. No pressure right?
After what felt like an hour, but was in actuality probably only twenty minutes, I reached the end of the trail, which led up to a very flat plateau, with small streams, shrubs, and mud dispersed across the otherwise barren field. I walked atop this plateau for a considerable amount of time, taking in its captivating sights, with the sunlight reflecting off the water and making for some really wonderous photos.
Eventually, I came to realize that I couldn’t recall where I had first climbed up on top of this plateau. This was the first and the last time that I would ever forget to landmark where I came from.
Looking all around the field, all I could see was the open space, and I began to panic a little. Not a lot, but enough to get the blood pumping.
I was lost.
I finally spotted what I thought was the trail I had used to get up, and I started my careful descent. I made it about ten feet down before I quickly realized that I was incorrect, and this was no trail at all.
I studied my surroundings and determined that the only way forward now was to keep going down, as retreating would be even more dangerous at this stage due to the slope. In controlled slides, I slowly creeped down the edge of the cliff, catching myself on any hand or foot holds that I was able to locate.
I periodically kicked rocks down the hill to determine which way they decided to bounce, giving myself a slight edge in determining which path was safest (and about how far I could slide without it becoming dangerous).
I scraped my hands badly in the slide down, and while harrowing, I did eventually reach the bottom. For a couple of moments, I truly thought that The Badlands would be my last stop on the road trip (and in life).
When I reached the bottom, it was near sunset, and I enjoyed the orange-filled skies, triumphant in my success with endorphins still rushing through my body.
I stayed until the sunset turned into night, and I enjoyed stargazing at one of the few noted dark sites designated for seeing the night sky in all its glory. Unfortunately, I was not able to take any great photos to capture the moment, but I was satisfied enough with having the memory, comforted by the knowledge that my near-death experience would make this night difficult to forget.
Tired, but not defeated, I made my way to a nearby parking lot to sleep for the night before my next stop on the road trip, Mount Rushmore!
And that about wraps it up for this edition! For more information on each step of my journey, and to discover all of the places that I saw, feel free to explore the rest of my articles in “Road Trip w/ Charlie.”
Until next time, travelers!
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