Theodore Roosevelt National Park: North Unit

We had a perfectly lovely day exploring the north unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. After three solid days of heavy rain, the sun was a welcome sight. The temperatures were warm, but not too hot, and really, we couldn't have asked for better weather. As I mentioned in an earlier post, we explored the south unit of the park back in 2014, and you can read that blog post right here.

The north unit of the park is small and could easily be seen on a day trip without spending the night. We spent two nights in the park so we had a whole day to explore. It was five miles from the park entrance to the campground, and then there is a scenic drive that dead ends--spectacularly--at Oxbow Overlook. Here are some things we saw along the way.

Directly across from our campground was the beginning of the Buckhorn Trail. There are several hiking trails in the park...most longer and more challenging than we old folk wanted to attempt. Nevertheless, one could start a lengthy hike right here. We were more interested in the rock formations.

Erosion is the name of the game at this park, and the recent rains had left things quite a mess. We know from visits to other national parks that the line of rocks toward the upper part of that image above are called dikes. That rock is harder than the surrounding rock, and so the surrounding rock erodes around it.

Turn directly around from where the image above was taken, and you can see the Juniper Campground where we spent two nights.

We love camping inside the national parks because it is inexpensive, but it is also peaceful and lovely. Juniper Campground was located in a huge stand of cottonwood trees.

It was hauntingly beautiful.

The leaves were changing, giving everything a golden glow.

And you'd be disappointed if I didn't photograph every blooming thing, wouldn't you?

An earlier sign indicated there was a "demonstration herd" of longhorn cattle that could be seen, but we never saw a single one. Oh well. You can't have everything. We saw plenty of wildlife, as I'm just about to tell you.

Behind that sign, I took this panorama. Remember that you can make the pictures larger by clicking on them. This is a good example of what the North Dakota Badlands look like.

There was just one trail we planned to hike, and we were disappointed to find it closed due to the recent heavy rains.

Nevertheless, we were impressed by the size of this bison poop...although "poop" seems far too dainty a word for this. Watch your step, please.

And, really...mind your manners too.

Our next stop was the River Bend Overlook, which was stunning in its beauty.

From the parking area, this is what you see:

We noticed a post that seemed to be the place the bison liked to scratch themselves. The post was rubbed to a shine on one side, and there were bits of fur stuck to the wood.

Their hoof prints are almost as large as their, um, pies.

Here's what you see from the viewing platform of the River Bend Overlook.

That structure there was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps. I've mentioned before how much I love coming upon these structures from days gone by. You can read more about the mission of the CCC in that link I've provided. Such a worthwhile project during such hard times.

Look to the right, and this is what you see:

Look to the left, and this is what you see:

Here's how it looks standing inside the structure.

There was a herd of bison hanging out on the surrounding hillside.

This fellow seemed to take a shine to Mike, who shot this picture from his window.

That image is going into my sketchbook. My word for this One Word Wonder: "Imposing."

Of course our shadow selves had to get into the act here. They haven't shown themselves yet this trip because the weather was a little too wet for them.

The park borders on a national grassland.

And it is vast.

Standing here, one gets a real appreciation for the size and diversity of our country.

We could see private farms just outside the park's borders.

The road was in disrepair, having suffered a mudslide during the recent rains. This is Bentonite clay, and it runs when it gets wet.

Nearing the end of the road, we came across this herd of bighorn sheep waaaaaay far out across the valley. What a thrill to get to see these shy animals.

This was the view at the end of the line at Oxbow Bend. Fabulous.

From there we drove back to the visitor center. I needed to check out whether they had refrigerator magnets and/or shot glasses. There was a bison hanging there...just munching grass, completely unperturbed by the humans around him.

And, indeed, I picked up my first refrigerator magnet of the trip.

From there we went back to the trailer and tried getting the kitties out for a walk. This was a short-lived excursion. Wanna see what a bad cat looks like?

Neh, neh, neh...there isn't a harness made that can keep me contained!

Yes, in less than two minutes, this little, um, sweetsh*t...I mean, sweetheart... had slipped her harness. We had some anxious moments corralling her again. We honestly thought we wouldn't be able to do it, and she took off running across the park, running and running, farther and farther away. Finally, Mike yelled "Sadie, No!" It seemed hearing the word "no" put some boundaries in place for her, and she allowed us to approach and pick her up.

And that was the end of Sadie's leash-walking career. No more walking for her...no way, no how. Smitty has been out a couple of times now, however, and he's been a perfect gentleman.

The light was so lovely at sunset, I couldn't help but take more pictures from our campsite.

I was motivated to put the starburst filter on my DSLR and experiment a little bit.

On the embroidery front, I've finally finished the first cluster of flowers, except for one green leaf.

Now I've moved my hoop to the next section, which should go a little faster. When that's finished, I'll be doing another cluster of flowers on the other side. The flowers are taking a long time.

As I'm writing this, we're staying the night at the fairgrounds in Minot, North Dakota. It's a great spot for just $20, and we have electricity. Yay! I've done a load of clothes, and we've visited a quilt shop.

I'll save all of that for future posts, however. We're just about to go pick up some stuff at a local department store. More later.