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| View of the Little Missouri River that flows through and formed the magnificent scenery in TRNP |
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| Just some of the feril horses we saw - this family came within about 100 yds of where we were parked |
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| These little prairie dogs were all over the place - loved to watch them scurrying from one burrow to the next |
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This is what Bill called "Bison -v- Harley" |
End result = Bison - 1; Harley - 0
Sunset in the park
From Minot, we drove down to Medora, ND, located at the far southwestern corner of North Dakota and spent two days wandering Theodore Roosevelt National Park. It's located in the National Grasslands area and has three different units - the more popular South Unit (entrance is right in Medora), the less visited North Unit (about 65 miles to the north), and the Elkhorn Ranch section (located between the two units on rugged dirt road).
We had been in the South Unit before so this time, we decided to go up to the North Unit. Halfway there, driving through flat green farm lands for as far as the eye could see, I began to wonder why I agreed to do this. Two weeks of hard work and one long day of driving had worn me out but being the tireless adventurer that I am, I said "Sure, let's go!" Not only were there huge fields, we also saw lots of fields with newly baled hay that literally dotted the landscape. Scattered among all the pretty hay bales were the oil derricks pumping continuously. Then we would go over a small rise and see a tall structure sticking up in the air - new oil wells being drilled. All of this among all the green fields and hay bales. More than one use for all this land makes the owner very rich. Staci's brother Daniel (our daughter-in-laws brother who we have known since he was born and who now works the oil fields out of Minot) told us that one well he worked on brought in over 26,000 barrels of oil in two weeks; the payment to the land owner was something around $120,000 - not bad for two weeks of sitting back and watching the liquid gold being pumped from your ground.
The long drive up to the North Unit was definitely worth it - fantastic scenery was everywhere. Rugged buttes and mesas formed a stark badland but when you looked closer, the barrenness was broken up by small wild flowers scattered around. We stopped at one overlook area. I left Bill up by the road where he was taking some pictures. I stopped to talk to some people who were looking down through the boards of the deck only to discover they had seen a rattlesnake crawl under the enclosed portion of the deck. And boy was that snake mad! I couldn't see it through the boards, but I could sure hear its rattle going crazy. He was not a happy camper! So being the prudent person I am, I left it to its own happy devices under the deck.
After we got back to the RV that was parked at the Medora Campground, we decided to drive through the South Unit at dusk. The animals are more active in the evening than they are during the day. And we were rewarded - saw lots of bison (including the one that challenged the motorcycle), deer, elk, prairie dogs, a lone pronghorn, and, best of all, herds of feral horses. These horses came from domesticated horses and now roam the park as free range horses. There were a number of youngsters playing with each other and annoying their mothers. One mare became annoyed and hauled off and nipped the rear end of her colt. They certainly lead a good life! And fat! You could never get a saddle around these horses.
The bison challenge to the motorcycle was funny. We had been following this old bison for a ways when he came to a bend in the road and this motorcycle rode up. The guy on the bike stopped abruptly to watch which way the bison would go. The huge animal kept his course aiming straight for the motorcycle. Apparently, the guy on the bike got wise and turned around to go back the way he had come. Just as the guy looked back over his shoulder, the bison decided the joke was on him and wandered off the road into the brush. As we passed the guy on the bike, he had a very relieved smile on his face.
Oh - Medora. Strange name for a town. There's a story here. A French Marquis married the daughter of a rich New York banker (who was a baron in his own right) and came out to this area with the idea of shipping beef back to the east in refrigerated rail cars. He founded the town in 1883 and named it after his wife. They built a hunting cabin (only 26 rooms small) and hunted and entertained their friends and family for three years when the business fell apart, partially due to drought, inability to obtain quality cattle, and his inattention to the business. They left the area and went back to France but he had a wanderlust spirit and was eventually killed in Sahara Desert by African tribesmen.
Finally - the biggest influence on this area was none other than Teddy Roosevelt. He came out here hunting in 1883, the same time as the Marquis was building the town of Medora. He loved the area so much, he invested in cattle ranching and spent a lot of time on horseback leading the "strenuous life" that he loved . When his first wife Alice died in childbirth and his mother died within hours of each other, he returned to this area in hopes of finding relief to his intense grief. He started a ranch of his own (the Elkhorn) and continued with his partnership with the Maltese Cross ranch. The hard work and camaraderie he developed with his ranchhands helped to heal his spirit. And he truly fell in love with the rugged beauty of this land. He once wrote that if it had not been for the time and experience he had here, he would never have made it to the presidency. Thank goodness for that - would we have the national parks we have now if TR had not loved this area?
More later . . .
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