Makoshika State Park, Montana

Medora, North Dakota

Boondocking at Theodore Roosevelt North Unit, North Dakota

We crossed Montana and stopped at Makoshika State Park before crossing into North Dakota. We had some nice hikes around the state park where we got to enjoy the geology of the badlands. On one hike we did visit the dig site of a duckbill dinosaur (hadrosaurs) although the fossil was in poor shape. We also did an EarthCache focused around petrified cypress stumps from when this area was a bit wetter.

We then headed to Medora, home to the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Medora is where Teddy first got off the train in North Dakota, when he went out to hunt buffalo 'before they were all gone'. After the loss of his wife and mother on Valentine's Day he would return to Medora to start over as a rancher. He later said, "I would not have been President had it not been for my experience in North Dakota."

We enjoyed the town and exploring the TRNP South Unit. One of the highlights of Medora is the Musical, performed nightly during season. It has been running since 1965 and now preformed at the multi-million dollars Burning Hills amphitheater an outside venue. With family-friendly music and comedy and a patriotic tribute to Theodore Roosevelt's time in the Badlands.

After leaving Medora we headed north to boondock near the Theodore Roosevelt NP North Unit. Some 60 miles separate the two units and a third, smaller unit where TR's Elkhorn Ranch was is very remote. One of the highlights for me was visiting the petrified forest, or mostly the stumps of cypress trees that once grew in the area. Now harsh terrain, it was once a lush forest with an excess of water. Since those days when dinosaurs ruled this land a lot has changed. Most of the ground is made up of clay where erosion has carved this land where bighorn sheep and coyotes now rule.

We finished our tour of North Dakota with a visit to Fort Union National Historical Site, once the crown jewel of John Jacob Asters fur business. The trading post was built to impress and show the power of the Hudson Bay Fur Company.

2023 Will be a different for us!

Season 5 Begins!

Post COVID Travels & a New Baby

Firie Foliage of Fall

with a visit to Idaho

… by way of California