South Unit, Theodore Roosevelt National Park

It was south on U.S. Highway 85 for us - to the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. We made a pit-stop at the Painted Canyon Visitor's center where we were greeted with this sign...

Yes, this was in the bathroom.
You should have seen the older ladies staring at me while I took the photo!

The ranger also gave us a weather update: Thunderstorms for the next two evenings, some severe.

We split an elk burger (It was the first time either of us had tried Elk. It is a very dry, lean meat.) at the only restaurant open in Medora. All others had signs saying "Sorry, we are closed for the season." Another town that shuts down after Labor Day.


We were looking forward to traveling the 36-mile Scenic Loop Drive, anxious to see all we could before the heavens fell.

Medora Overlook

At the Medora Overlook, we spotted a small herd of wild horses. A gentleman watching with us said a larger herd of wild horses walked through the gates of the park the morning before.

A fidgety prairie dog.

Our next stop was a Prairie Dog Town (which are scattered throughout the North and South Units). The Prairie Dogs were so chubby - and delightful to watch! The park sign said their biggest predators are automobiles.

Scoria Point

Scoria Point Overlook - Scoria is a sand and clay mixture that has been naturally burned and forms a natural brick.

A view of the endless badlands.

North Dakota Badlands Overlook - erosion has washed away the soft materials of the badlands and left a maze of canyons and buttes. What is a butte? A hill with vertical sides and a small top.

Some of you are old enough to remember the burning coal seam in the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. It burned from 1951 to 1977 - and was a major tourist attraction (We read of tourists roasting marshmallows on the fire!). Today, you can hike the area now known as the Coal Vein Trail.

This is where the 1951-1977 coal seam fire was located.


A very steep staircase on the Coal Vein Trail

Coal in the mountains periodically caught fire. The causes: lightning, range fires, and spontaneous combustion. I told Richie to hold it in while we were hiking because, as cool as it might be to witness, I didn't want to be near any burning coal. Lightning was the instigator in the 1951 burning.

Despite the 15-inches of rain annually, the surrounding vegetation still flourishes. We spotted juniper, sumac, prickly-pear cactus, and wheatgrass.

Richie with binoculars on Buck Hill.

Sally in the parking lot at the base of Buck Hill.

Buck Hill was our next stop... a vertical hike to the 2,855-foot peak. The views were spectacular!

Wind holes in Wind Canyon


Sandstone carved by the wind.


The Little Missouri River

And my favorite spot on this drive was the Wind Canyon Trail. It overlooks the Little Missouri River... and views of the natural wind-sculpted sands of the canyon.

Richie thought this looked like Stone Henge from a distance.

Our park visit ended with a special (and rare) viewing of a herd of pronghorns.



With the severe thunderstorm warning, we decided to head to a hotel in Dickinson, North Dakota. We again had to pay an inflated price because it was the beginning of hunting season. Urgh...

But we shouldn't have complained...
On July 8, 2009, a F3 Tornado (The Fujita Scale ranks this 158-206 mph winds and a "Severe Tornado".) hit Dickinson, North Dakota. Homes were ripped off of their foundations and 70-foot trees were uprooted. The young lady at the front desk said "I'll never forget the date... 7-8-9... I was with my 3-year-old son searching for a safe place to hide in my apartment building. We were safe, but not everybody was so lucky." She also said that it sounds just like a freight train coming. There were families living in the hotel whose homes were demolished from the tornado.

The winds were incredibly strong the two nights we were in Dickinson. We took the bikes off the roof of the car, and watched the bushes at the hotel go horizontal. It was a little unnerving the first night. We were attentive of the "freight train" sound. We were spooked a few times until we realized that the hotel was near a train track.

Neither of us had ever sat through a tornado before... nor want to!