On July 24, 2015 I left my house in south Louisiana and hit the road. I was heading north on my Explore America road trip to meet up with several people for a fun day in the dirt!
My first stop would be in Attica, IN where I would meet up with several other FJ owners for breakfast, before heading to Badlands Off Road Park.
Around 0800 in the morning on July 25th, I pulled into the town of Attica, IN. Shortly after arriving, I meet up with everyone at CrossRoads Family Restaurant.As I pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant, I noticed was littered with off road vehicles. Among these vehicles were several well built and great looking FJ's. It was a sight for sore eyes.
Like I have said before, I love the Toyota community. Before leaving Louisiana, I reached out to Jennifer and a few other people who live near there. After telling them the date of when I would be in town, they quickly put together an event.
We had about 10 vehicles show up that day to wheel with us. I can't thank everyone enough for putting this together and the ones who drove out to join in on the fun. We have a great community of people who love to help each other and meet new people. It was awesome to meet so many people who I have only talked to via social media.
Once we had our fill of good food and coffee, we headed to Badlands Off Road Park. I had never been there before, but I have heard and read great things about the park.
Because of everything I have heard, read and seen about this place, my expectations were high. As we pulled into the park, I was amazed to see the already large crowd of people waiting to get inside. I did not mind the wait because I knew it was a good sign.
The park fee is very fair for how large the area is and everything offered. It cost me $34.00 ($20.00 park fee and $14.00 for required orange flag) to enter.
Once everyone was paid up and had their flags, we drove to a large parking lot to air down, talk and take pictures.
From there we started running the trails and experiencing everything else the park had to offer. I only saw a portion of the park that day, but I was amazed to what I saw. Badlands has a little of everything: dirt, sand, mud, rocks, water and during the winter, its all covered in snow, which I was told, can be very interesting and often times, surprising. No mater what you want to do, they have it there.
Even though my time there was short, I had a blast! Like I said earlier, my expectations were high and this place lived up to it and more. One of the best things about this place, is there really is no need to leave. They have food on sight, air, wash rack and camping.
Badlands is about is about 920 miles north from where I live. Even though it is a long drive, I will definitely be doing another trip up there. When that time comes, I plan on camping there.
To learn more about Badlands Off Road Park, please click here: Badlands
Gallery
Some photos curtesy of: Bo Robinson and Mike Jamieson