> Friday, Day 7
>
> My one night stay at Union Grove in South Dakota ended marvelously. The first thing I did after emerging from the tent was to check on the status of the Defender, which was not performing well the day before with starting. It started marvelously. The only thing that I can figure out that happened over the previous two days was that the Defender did not take well to the regular gas I had to give it,the only gas to be found on the route that I took. Problem solved. No more workarounds needed.
>
> My good luck continued shortly after that when my next-site neighbors, John and Patty from Saskatoon Saskatchewan, came over to my camp and invited me to breakfast, an invitation i could not refuse. I have to admit that freshly made pancakes with blueberries and maple syrup really hit the spot.
>
> My good luck went south shortly after that, though. As I prepared to leave the camp. I discovered that the Defender's left rear tail light is not working. This is a problem that I need to figure out the solution for.
>
> If it's not one thing it's another.
>
> The plan for Friday was to make it across most of South Dakota to Badlands National Park no later than 5 PM. We made it at 5:30, but would have been there much earlier had the right rear window panel of the Defender not blown open four times during the drive. Apparently the roof design is not equipped to handle a Defender with a 429 hp engine, which permits me to coast along on the interstate between 70 and 75 miles an hour, up from 69 mph with my earlier engine. I devised to solution for this that doesn't look pretty, but it works, and now I don't have to take time out from the drive to reinstall the side panel of the roof.
>
> Once i arrived at the Cedar Pass camp Badlands, it took longer than usual to set up the tent because it seems that there were more people interested in my rig than at most of the other campsites. But I finished the evening's chores in enough time to climb into the tent for the night by 8 PM, ready for a relaxing evening. By the way, when i say climb into the tent, i am not exagerating. This Northface tent i have is meant for extreme cold. The tradeoff is with the door. To simulate entering this tent, open up one of the cabinet doors beneath you kitchen sink and try climbing into that cabinet, and that's precisely what it's like, and once I am in, i only have about six times more space than that standard sink cabinet.
>
> Forget about that relaxing evening in my tent.
>
>> After i climbed into the tent, I accidentally leaned up against my open tent bag, which contained my bear spray and about 25 other small items. The pressure of my back on the bag forced the safety cap off the bear (pepper) spray and it emptied its contents all over the bag and into the tent. I spent an hour airing out the tent and cleaning everything that got spayed. Powerful stuff, enough to stop a bear, i guess.
>>
>> When it was safe to go back into the tent without a face mask, i again started to settle in for a relaxing evening. When the residual pepper spray in the air started to irritate my good eye, i subconsciously rubbed it with my hand. Although i had cleaned my hands after cleaning up the pepper mess, there apparently was still a lot of hidden residue of pepper spray on it. The pain in my eye set in immediately and my vision became blurred. I hurried outside the tent to the Defender to get a syringe from my first aid bag to squirt some water in my eye, thinking that was the remedy. Most all of the others in the camp were in their RVs and tents, except for the two young delightful,women from France, Ambre and Gaelle, camping in their car next to my site. I approached them in the dark and asked for them to look at my eye and they told me it was quite red. Ambre, without being asked, quickly searched the internet for the remedy, and found that water would help, so she squirted the water from the syringe into my eye and the pain started dissipating immediately. Close call.
>>
>> But wait, there's more.
>>
>> While the two women were helping me, my phone rang. It was Tiffany, the young woman traveling to LA in her car with her 5-year old daughter and two dogs whom i met at an earlier camp. Thinking she was calling to check up on my progress, i told her i was in an emergency and would call her back. As it turns out, she was calling for advice on what to do - her car was overheating and she was stranded in the dark on the shoulder of an interstate in the New Mexico desert. More below.
>>
>> But wait, there's more.
>>
>> When Gaelle went to get back into her car, which contained all of their belongings, she discovered that in her rush to help poor me she had locked themselves out of their car, where they had intended to sleep. I suggested they call AAA since the car's owner had it, but AAA refused to let them use that card since it only applied to Canada. I got on the phone and explained the situation and they said they would send someone on my account, which they did, three hours later. In the meantime, i let them sit in my Defender with Donner's blankets and the heater running, and made them some tea. Finally, at 12:30, the AAA tech showed up and took one minute to open their door.
>>
>> Before i turned in after a close call, two close calls, I called Tiffany back and she explained that her situation was under control, but not resolved. I promised to help out however i could from about 1200 miles away. I think the advice i
>> gave her was helpful, but she impressed me as a very resourceful person who knows how to solve problems on her own.
>>
> Saturday, Day 8
>>
> Since i had very little sleep the night before, i decided to stay put in Badlands for one more day. My two hew friends from France invited me to breakfast with them and I did. After a most pleasant breakfast of homemade oatmeal and other things, including some meagre contributions of my own, we took the customary photos of our group and said our goodbyes, as they were leaving camp today. Actually, it's kind of sad when you strike up a close friendship with someone after just after several hours, then you part, knowing that you may never see that person again. It is particularly depressing, when they are leaving the camp, and you are left behind. No matter how many times I've experienced that, it still gets to me.
>
> After my friends left the camp, I took Donner for a ride around the Badlands loop, the 20-mile drive through the spectacular sights of this strange world. We got back into camp at about 5 PM, settled in for the evening's chores, and made our way into the tent by 730. The only downside of today was that Donner, or did not meet any dogs, although it was not for lack of trying.
>
> I may change my plans tomorrow and stop off at Mount Rushmore, although dogs are not allowed beyond the parking lot, which is fine for me. Or we may travel north to the Teddy Roosevelt Park. Or we may proceed with our original plans and head to Buffalo Wyoming to the Indian campground there. I'll make my decision after breaking camp, showering, and getting on the road.
>
> Incidentally, Ambre and Gaelle just came out of Yellowstone and told me that there are only two camps open at Yellowstone and they were full by the time they got there serval days ago, and that the temperature in Yellowstone was 19° at night. I hope that I am acclimated to the cold weather that is just around the corner.
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> That's it for now. I will send the day' photos later.
>
> Ed and Don are from the road in Badlands National Park.
