THEODORE ROOSEVELT trip
Sep. 17-24 2016
PART 4
"North Dakota! North Dakota! With thy prairies wide and free..." That's their state song, and you know it's their state song! This is I-94 in the vicinity of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
The old US 10 (Pacific Avenue) heading into Medora, N.D. That could be the Little Missouri River in the background.
Old US 10 continues into Medora.
The national park affords Medorans a keen entrance via East River Road.
As this website celebrates wildlife as well as roads and being cool, we detect this prairie dog at the park.
The park has wild horses. According to a presentation at the park, these beautiful wild horses actually descended from domesticated horses who got loose.
This overlook gives us this view of I-94. In the distance, you can see where East River Road goes over the Interstate.
A view of I-94 and the exit to old US 10 west of Medora. The mountain in the background could be Flat Top Butte, which isn't that far from Montana.
The Tim Tent colonizes Theodore Roosevelt National Park. This splendid park, established in 1978, has 3 noncontiguous parts, and we're in the South Unit. Like other national parks, it belongs to the people. Roosevelt was a champion of conservation - and yes, he did call his glasses "spectacles." His glasses case once protected him from an assassination attempt. I relaxed at this campsite and buried my beezer in a book (as an intelligent person would say). The flat land right behind us was the source of many majestic bison marching through the campground.
The park has bison. You'll see.
In the course of a few minutes, we saw a buncha bison.
I don't know whether this was on East River Road or the loop that connects to it.
More bison!
CHAAARRRGE!!! It looks like that bison is gonna charge at us! In my day, my parents would charge me money if I did something like leaving the cap off the toothpaste. The oldsters would always warn, "We're gonna have to start charging!" And I would go, "CHAAARRRGE!!!"
One of our furry friends blocks the road. I guess that means this bison can join the Tea Party!
I know you just want to give this bison a big hug and say, "Aw, you precious little woocap!" Don't. This is a wild animal who could be dangerous.
This is more likely to be the loop road. It's a loop-de-loop! (Insert inside joke from the mid-1980s involving Flight Simulator here.)
More park scenery.
See the deer! This may be East River Road again.
Another bison!
The road stuff is finally getting good! West River Road goes towards Petrified Forest, and the pavement ends right here! You're gonna love this!
The road to Petrified Forest goes back and forth between Billings County and Golden Valley County.
Remember when some hack in the George H.W. Bush regime thought a cattle guard was a person?
This is gettin' good! (Wait until you see a road in Nebraska we were on!)
I don't even know if all these roads are marked on Google Maps!