New Landscapes

It was so nice to wake up in the cool of the day this morning. We broke camp rather quickly and were on our way before 9 AM.

The trip through northwest South Dakota was mind boggling. We rode on a perfectly straight road for at least an hour through the most barren land and without sight of any town. When we finally found a rather dilapidated building which sold gas (and I imagine a few groceries and sundries) I was grateful to have an outhouse available. It was another 40 miles before we saw any other commercial enterprises and then it was just a conglomeration of odd buildings. We can't imagine how anyone lives there with any degree of comfort.

Not long after we drove into North Dakota the landscape changed abruptly. At the recommendation of our Iowa cousins we are staying in the little western tourist town of Medora. It lays at the gate of the Theodore Roosevelt National Badlands Park. Our trip through the park was the best part of this day. The land is rugged and uncompromising but beautiful in its own way. We saw many wild bison, and were a bit startled and uneasy when we had a 2000 plus pound bison standing in the road directly in our path. He had no intention of moving, and with another bison laying at the edge of the other side of the road we had little room for passage. Jim eventually did go around him, and if I had stuck my hand out of the window I could have petted him. But since we were warned at the gate not to mess with the bison, we thought better of it and drove on. We also saw Elk and at least a thousand prairie dogs.

We went to a large outdoor buffet in the evening and had steak that was grilled on pitchforks. Shortly after the meal we were treated with a cowboy musical that was presented in a large 3000 seat outdoor amphitheater. It was a good show, but we were both ready to get some rest. We are staying in a motel tonight because our day was already so full and because it's a hundred degrees outside. Here's hoping that Montana will be a little cooler tomorrow!

I don't have many options for arranging this blog using an app so I am unable to label pictures. I will have to sort it all out when we get home. At least this will help us remember the blessing of this trip.