Arriving North Dakota

 5-25-2021 - Tuesday

Finally, we are headed to North Dakota, our main destination for the first part of this trip.  We really enjoyed South Dakota and look forward to exploring North Dakota, the only state, except some in New England, that we have never been to.

We got an early start, out of bed at 8:00, left camp at 8:45 without breakfast.  Stopped at first restaurant, it was closed Mondays and Tuesdays, walked across street to coffee shop, they're menu was a little too fancy for us (although I did snitch a lilac from the house next door); drove on to Belle Fourche for the propane we had scoped out the other day and bought breakfast sandwiches there (not great).  But we were moving along.  It was 61 degrees, very, very windy (25-35 mph with gusts to 50 mph).  There was a wind advisory, of course.  Joe fought the wind all day long.  We saw a few different farm animals in this area, large herds of big sheep, and at least one alpaca.  

We have also seen a lot of snow fences on this drive, and I'm sure they get used.  But we are still in the rolling grasslands -- you can see for miles and not a tree in sight.  

We did see some cowboys, heading out.  And a little later, we saw 2 guys off of quads, repairing fences.  Wonder if they call them cowboys too?  Unfortunately, I didn't think to get a picture of them -- one was actually kneeling down working on the fence.  

Although the wind was a problem, the saving grace was very little traffic.  Often, there was not another vehicle in sight.  But when we met a semi, it about blew us off the road.  We had a couple stretches of 2-3 miles each when we headed east, and Joe was cruising then, not even turning the wheel.  He said for future trips, we might consider just going where the wind blows us.

I made a startling observation -- my socks didn't match today.  I really do match them up when I do the laundry, don't know what happened here.  But I know the style today is to not match them (which I learned from Kaylee), so I was styling.  I sent her a picture and told her I was following her style today.  She said, it must be backwards day, because her socks matched!  LOL. 

 We have seen a lot of oil wells in South Dakota, many not pumping.  But today we saw some pumping, and a new one being drilled.

We crossed the North Dakota state line at 11:30, having driven today 111.1 miles (must surely be a good omen).  The terrain here is about the same, maybe a little more "rolly" but there is more ranch farming and less grasslands. Looks like they grow some grain and some hay.  We saw 86 antelope this morning in South Dakota, and zero in North Dakota.  We also saw 21 deer in South Dakota, and none in North Dakota until we got to the Park where we are headed.  We also saw some geese along the way.

We pulled off in the town of Amidon for lunch about 12:20, took a 25-minute break. It was 58 degrees.  They had a nice town sign here.  There are no, or very few, rest stops in these states, so we stopped at a closed business.  Joe discovered a lot of cold air leaks in around his door handle and door seal, especially when the wind comes from that direction.  

The highest point in North Dakota is along here, 3,506.  We saw the turn-off but that will have to wait until we are in the jeep.  We thought this might be part of the ridge where it is.

And it didn't get any warmer.  We were only 34 miles from I-94, where we head west to the Park.  This is where we made our fuel stop.  Joe has to hold on to his hood to keep it up.

We reached the Theodore Roosevelt National Park about 1:50.  We were greeted with a few buffalo and a band of feral horses.  Yeah!!!

The interstate here runs right along the side of the Park.  Further in, the interstate actually runs through the park(green is the park).  

After our miles and miles of rolling hills, grasslands, and ranchland, all of a sudden the terrain made a drastic change.

The Visitor Center along here is named Painted Canyons.  We didn't stop but plan on going back there.  We did see another band of the feral horses.

Then we reached the entrance to the Park, and our campground just past it.  We were ready to get off the road and out of the wind.

They are in the process of adding 50 more campsites to this park.  We got here at 2:00, got set up, rested for a while, then drove back in to the little town of Medora for dinner at Boots Bar and Grill (expensive).  Not many choices open yet but we think by this weekend everything will be open.  Then, of course, we took a little drive through the first part of the Park.  I'm happy to report that lilacs are in bloom here too!

We stopped at an overlook, pretty sight.  We drove into the Park about 7-8 miles, stopped and took a phone call from Tiffany, then turned around.  We saw 5 deer just before we got in the Park, then 6 more in the Park.  Also saw 4 turkeys, and 1 buffalo in the Park.

We will drive this 35-mile Loop tomorrow if the weather permits.  Rain is predicted, so we will have to see.  There are 3 sections to the Park, and we hope to drive them all, maybe more than once.  Happy to be here, ready to see what we can see in the next few days.  We are scheduled to be here 7 nights, leaving on Tuesday, June 1.  We wanted to make sure we had a place to stay through the holiday.  We drove a hard 204 miles today.  No rain, but wind, wind, wind.  It dropped down to 58 degrees for a while.  Paid $2.799 for gas today, so the price up here is still holding.  Interestingly, the propane we bought was sold by the pound, 70 cents per pound plus $1.00 for haz mat.  We lhave full hook-ups here, plus good phone signal, plus good internet.  Life is good!