2023 Maine Trip
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Destination Acadia, Maine via North Dakota
We spent the past few days packing the van and telling the cats we were getting ready for our next trip. I don’t think they were listening. They seemed a bit shocked and upset when I nabbed them and popped them into the van this morning. But they jumped into their kennel and were mostly…
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Not far enough north!
After Tony’s early morning run, we moved up the road to the Dorothy Pecaut Nature Center to get better cell reception for his work session. I hiked most of the trails at my leisure and took pictures of plants and critters. Tony joined me for a second hike, then we enjoyed lunch here. We drove…
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Little House in Hades
It was ninety-eight degrees today in De Smet, SD, while touring sites of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s life here. It was flat uncomfortable and Usain’s air-conditioner struggled a bit. I took the tour in town at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society that included the Surveryors’ House they lived in one winter, the First School of…
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Prairie Potholes Everywhere!
Today we drove on SD Highway 25 for the most part, starting off on gravel to avoid a closure. There are so many prairie potholes in NE South Dakota. It’s fun to say and really scenic to drive through—literally— the roads are built up and go through the prairie potholes. Many are lake-sized, but shallow.…
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A walk in the prairie
Off and on light rain showers were the weather report this morning, and I got caught in a shower on a walk. I was warm enough from walking that I wasn’t cold. The afternoon turned beautiful and was in the mid-70s. Finally, the great temps we’ve been looking for! Our afternoon hike was on a…
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Missile Silos and Buffalos
We had a lovely morning walk before leaving Ft. Ransom State Park. What would the pioneers think about renting a night’s stay in a wagon with A/C??? We then did the tourist thing today, and toured the Ronald Reagan Minuteman Missile Site run by the State Historical Society of North Dakota near Cooperstown, ND and…
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Travel to Theodore Roosevelt National Park
The US only has one national park named after a person. Theodore Roosevelt loved this part of North Dakota and had a ranch here for years. We will hike in the park tomorrow. We traveled from Jamestown to Medora—straight shot west on I-94.
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Mustang and Bison Encounter in Theodore Roosevelt National Park
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…
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Petrified Wood and Wallows
A half-hour drive on a dirt road was the first part of our trek to see the petrified “forest” here in Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The final road to the parking lot has big ruts and would be a mess after rainfall. We walked through rolling hills prairie, badlands outcropping with the petrified wood, and…
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Park and Town Hiking Vistas
Medora is here because of Teddy Roosevelt and the Marquis de Mores and Harold Schafer and the many volunteers that keep the town’s tourists happy. We did a little sightseeing this morning, and one volunteer explained how the town with a population of 121 can host the summer influx of visitors that makes it North…