After work (Tony) and laundry (Lisa) and a bit of rain, we headed into Theodore Roosevelt National Park for some hiking adventures. We started at the Peaceful Valley Ranch to walk a mile to the Jones Creek Trail. This was a CCC connection trail that Tony said meant Cruddy, Crummy Creek here because that was what came between us and the Jones Creek Trailhead. The water trough should have been our first clue – I suppose it was left over from the horseback riding that used to be offered here 9+ years ago. We backtracked and walked to the beach of the Little Missouri River which looks as muddy as the Big Muddy that it flows into. We then drove to and hiked the short Wind Canyon Trail to see the Little Missouri from a vista outcrop. The trail also shows the soft, wind-sculpted sandstone, and we struggled to find places without graffiti to take pictures.

We drove to Boicourt Overlook before heading back out of this part of the park. You can see at least 21.5 miles away according to the overlook sign. We saw wild mustangs by the road and we drove past a coal vein that is currently burning and understandably blocked off from exploration.

We drove back east to see the Painted Canyon and hike there. The trail goes down to the rock formations. After hiking the 0.9 mile loop, we continued on the east side of the parking lot where, according to the map, another Painted Canyon trail continued. The trail starts off on a service road, but we found a path off the road. It was marked with a post, but not the name of the trail. There were lots of bison footprints and droppings around. We hiked a bit further when Tony said, “That pile is fresh.” We then decided we needed to follow the road a bit more and that maybe we were on a bison trail, and had no desire to meet a bison up close. While walking further on the road we could see trail markers ahead. Tony said quietly, “bison, two o’clock.” Sure enough there was one, so we walked a bit further, but could tell he was walking toward us. Hum, should we turn around? We sure did, and kept looking back as he continued to get closer. Then he laid down and we paused to see a big cloud of dust in the air. “He’s in a wallow like that one,” I said, pointing out a round spot of bare dirt by the path. He got up and we all continued to walk toward the parking lot. I said, “It’s good we turned around—now he’s by that post where we stopped.” We made it back to observe him closer from the safety of Usain as he crossed the parking lot and continued on. That was enough excitement for one day; time for supper!

An evening stroll in Medora was quite pleasant as the temperature dropped from the 90s as the sun set. The chimney is from the De Mores Packing Plant ruins, a packing plant built by a French nobleman looking for a way to make money by selling meat back east. At one point this Marquis was accused of murder and challenged Roosevelt to a duel because he thought Roosevelt was out to get him. Roosevelt did not accept the challenge, and the Marquis was acquitted.