A Long but Good Day

Both of us were awake at 5:00 a.m. and because we couldn't sleep, we decided to get up.  We had breakfast at the RV and at 7:30 headed to Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  Teddy Roosevelt came to this part of North Dakota from New York as a young man of 24 to hunt buffalo.  He fell in love with the area.  When his wife and mother died within hours of each other, he came back to the area to mourn and renew himself.  He became president when President McKinley was assassinated.  He championed the national park system by playing a part in setting aside the land for several national parks including Yosemite.

The first animals to greet us were prairie dogs.  The park has several prairie dog towns scattered through the park.

Theodore Roosevelt N.P. is sometimes called the Badlands of North Dakota.   I don't think it is as uninhabitable as the Badlands of South Dakota.  It is a lot greener as these pictures show.  It is very beautiful and we enjoyed driving the loop road around the south unit of the park. 

We took a couple of short hikes.  One of them took us to the original east entrance of the park.  When I-94 was built, a new entrance along with visitor's center was opened from an exit off the interstate and this one was closed in 1968.

Another hike we took was to the top of  Buck Hill which is the second highest point in the part at a little over 2000 feet.

The park has several herds of wild horses and we were lucky enough to see a couple of herds including this one.  These two horses were at the upper bank of a small creek.  

The remainder of the herd was by the creek.    Among the herd was a small colt and his/her mom.  The colt was very frisky.  He would nurse and then kick up his heels in pleasure before nursing again.  It was fun to watch them.

Just outside the park, was a state park on the site of  a packing plant built by Marquis DeMores.  DeMores founded Medora which was named after his wife.

This chimney is the only part of the plant left after the fire

We had lunch at the Cowboy Cafe.   Carol had a hot roast beef sandwich with mashed potatoes and gravy and I had a Reuben sandwich.  Both were delicious.  Dessert was strawberry/rhubarb pie.                               

These pictures were taken at the Painted Rock Rest Area.  This was not only a rest area but had a visitor's center for Roosevelt N.P. and was located east of Medora.

We returned to camp about 2:00 p.m. and I decided to catch up on our laundry.  It was a great time because there was no one else using the facilities.

About 5:00 p.m. we decided to visit the Enchanted Highway before we left this area.  This highway is a collection of the world's largest scrap metal sculptures constructed at intervals along a county highway to Regent ND.   Gary Greff, a metal sculptor and retired school teacher, lived in the town of Regent.  He could see that the town, 32 miles off the interstate, was dying, and decided someone had do something about it.  His master plan was to create ten giant sculptures to bring people down the county highway to Regent.  It worked because we were on that highway and saw cars from other states as well enjoying his sculptures.

This one is entitled "Deer Crossing."

 World's Largest Grasshopper.

The size of the largest grasshopper dwarfs Carol and Sandy.

This one is entitled "Fisherman's Dream.  It depicts fish leaping  up 70 feet through a metal pond surface.

A Covey of Pheasants.  The rooster is 60 feet long and the hen is 50 feet.  Three 12-foot high chicks complete the family.

This one honors Teddy Roosevelt showing Roosevelt on his horse and a stagecoach and team.

A Tin Family.  Dad is 45 feet tall and mom is 44 feet tall.  Below is the son holding a sucker.

The sculptor has plans for additional  projects for the Enchanted Highway.  We enjoyed the drive through the rolling hills.  Farmers were in the fields harvesting wheat.  A Black-tailed ferret ran across the highway at one point.

It was nearly 7:30 before we got back to the camp.  We put the car on the dolly and Carol washed windows in preparation for leaving tomorrow.  We hope to be camped at the foot of the Bear Tooth Highway tomorrow night for four nights.  Our neighbor here at the park had just come through that part of Montana and he told Carol that we would be driving through a lot of smoke because of all the fires in Montana.  That will be a new experience for us.  One that I would just as soon not have.