Rolling Along With The Reynolds

Jim and Cindy's Adventure Blog traveling all over the USA

Tag: bison

Is this really on Earth?

What a trippy place. North Unit was home to some very otherworldy sight
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Luckily, there were no road closures in the North Unit Park area. Although, some portions of the 14-mile one-way pavement road turned to gravel; wear and tear from the harsh winter as well as recent rains.
* The highlight of this area was to see the cannonball concretions. Truly jaw-dropping, these rocks are round!
* Yet another highlight was to visit the Juniper Campground area. I had originally intended on us staying on-site here, but so glad we didn’t. The campground is much more suited to small RVs and vans. Big Rigs not-so-much. Then, to learn of the harsh weather impacting road conditions, Clark nor Jim or I would’ve been happy driving him into the Park. Additionally, the water main to the campground was temporarily shut off due the recent rains. Nonetheless, we enjoyed a nice leisurely hike on the Little Mo Nature Trail and afterwards enjoyed a picnic within the camp.
* And of course the most popular highlight in the Park is the breathtaking River Bend Overlook. The stone shelter was built in the 1930’s by the Civilian Conservation Corps.
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“…so fantastically broken in form and so bizarre in color as to seem hardly properly to belong to this earth“.  Theodore Roosevelt

 Pictures in the North Unit – out of this world!

 

near Medora, North Dakota

What a trippy place. Theodore Roosevelt National Park contains three Units. The South Unit felt so remote, so peaceful, and so surreal.  Unfortunately, only a small portion of the roads were open due to harsh winter and recent rains left culverts and such in need of repair. But we went until no further to the point of Wind Canyon Trail.
After a day in the Park, we cruised the town of Medora and stopped to fill our bellies with yummy pizza. The town was still sleeping since the popular Musical in this touristy but fun place doesn’t open curtain until next week.
On the way home from Medora to Belfield (15 miles to the East in the relatively flat grasslands) we made sure to view the Painted Canyon. Wow, what a view at the perfect golden hour too!
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I can see why Teddy Roosevelt felt such a strong fondness for this area.

He first came to the Dakota Territory in 1893 to hunt bison. A year later, devasted by personal tragedy (his mother died of Typhoid and his wife died in childbirth – on the very same day), he returned to grieve and lose himself in the vastness. He became a cattle rancher and, in this broken land, found adventure, purpose, wholeness. His love for the rugged beauty of the land brought him back time and again for the rest of his life.

Roosevelt credited his Dakota experiences as the basis for his groundbreaking preservation efforts and the shaping of his own character. As president 1901-09, he translated his love of nature into law. He established the US Forest Service and signed the 1906 Antiquities Act, under which he proclaimed 18 national monuments. He worked with Congress to create five national parks, 150 national forests, and dozens of federal reserves – over 230 million acres of protected land.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park was not the great man’s own creation. It was established in 1947 as a national memorial park to honor President Roosevelt and to provide a place for us to experience his beloved Badlands.

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“I have always said I never would have been President if it had not been for my experiences in North Dakota“.  – Theodore Roosevelt, 1918

 Pics of the South Unit, Medora, and Painted Canyon

 

Where the Buffalo Roam

Leaving Hot Springs, SD, we headed back North through the Wind Cave National Park, which then connected to the lower loop of the Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway in Custer State Park, specifically the Lower Wildlife Loop Road.  

It happily was an Open House weekend for the Park, so admission was free!

As every day so far has brought it’s own powerful emotions, this was no exception:

  • Sadness over the devastating loss of so many trees in the park due to an infestation of mountain pine beetles.
  • Excitement and wonder over spotting such a variety of wildlife – pronghorns, mountain goats, prairie dogs, mule deer, bighorn sheep, white tailed deer, and of course the start of the show was bison (it’s baby season!)
  • Overwhelmed with the vastness of the BIG SKY.

 

“You’re not supposed to drive here at 60 miles an hour. To do the scenery half justice, people should drive 20 or under; to do it full justice, they should get out and walk.” 
 – Peter Norbeck 

Tatanka is the Lakota word for bison. 

 

Custer State Park – Bison