North Dakota

Well it’s good to be flexible I guess, when we woke this morning we decided to head north to Theodore Roosevelt National Park at Medora, North Dakota via Devil’s Tower in eastern Wyoming. We went up 385 out of Hill City, up to Deadwood, SD over the hills and through the woods to Devil’s Tower, then on up to Theodore Roosevelt National Park in Medora, North Dakota. The scenery was beautiful, farmers cutting grain, pheasant running along the roads; antelope in the fields, and we even saw 7 Big Horn Sheep in a group. Outside our generator breaking a fault breaker in nearly 100 degree heat today was a pretty good day but there were a moment or two when the heat and tempers did collide. For nearly 200 miles in heat without air conditioning do have an impact on the attitude. All is well now, generator is fixed, and we’re tucked away in a campground with electric and tomorrow will bring a new day with new adventures. We can’t wait to see what Mr. Roosevelt has left for us to see.
Medora, ND is a cute little town, right outside the NP. Medora was founded by a rich guy, some duke, lord or some high fluten dude who had to name this town after his wife. A lot of friendly folk sitting around on the porch shooting the breeze and swapping stories to pass the time. School had started and the streets were deserted of children. Well we hit the park and saw wild buffalo, wild mustag and a few long horn steers grazing the prairie. The sandstone formations are unbelievable. Giant stones which reminded me of Kentucky geodes but only a couple thousand times bigger could be seen. This is truly one park well worth going out of your way to see. Next we went to the northern section of the park which is just south of Watford City, ND. Both the northen & southern sections of the park are on the Little Missouri River. This park has to be a hidden gem, very little traffic and we had no problem of finding a camping site while there. Beware camping in the TRNP is dry camping only because there is no power at the campgrounds, but it is worth it. Buffalo and deer roam through the campgrounds and I'm sure it would be a plesent surprise to see buffalo next to your unit grazing in the morning when you wake up. It could not be any worse then having black bear sniffing your tent as I once had happen to me while camping in the Grand Tetons a few years ago.
The north section of the park seems to be more hilly, and they seem to have larger herds of buffalo. We saw several deer, both mule & white tail & antilope but did not see any elk. We did see evidence of wild mustang and we did see a beautiful dapple grey stallion which appeared to be guarding a hidden harem of mares over the next hill. This is another area I wish we had stayed longer, to some it may not be a primary destination point but for folk like us who like the reclusive places I could have stayed and I would consider going back again some day.