Pictures of the Week 2010-5
Hello All,
From Bismarck, we continued west on I-94 to Theodore Roosevelt National Park in western North Dakota. Since this was our first visit to this national park we spent the entire day exploring every nook and cranny. The North Dakota badlands provide the scenic backdrop to the park that memorializes the 26th president for his enduring contributions to the conservation of our nation’s resources. The park is divided into three units: the Elkhorn Ranch Unit, the South Unit, and the North Unit.
The Elkhorn Ranch Unit is a small section of the park that preserves the site of Roosevelt’s “home ranch,” the Elkhorn. Although no structures remain, foundation blocks mark the outline of the original ranch house.
Driving the 36-mile scenic loop drive is the best way to see the South Unit. Wildlife including prairie dogs, bison, feral horses, mule deer, and whitetail deer are commonly seen along the route. Along the drive we experienced a variety of habitats including river bottoms, grasslands, forested slopes, and coulees as the road traversed the broken badlands.
The North Unit has a 28-mile scenic drive. Along the drive you can see unique geologic formations called “cannonball concretions” and more grassland, peer into canyons, and enjoy great views of the Little Missouri River.
We saw lots of bison while touring the park. They pretty much go where they want, when they want and are afraid of nothing. When you come upon them in the road you just wait until they are ready to move on. A big bull could make one heck of a dent in a little car like ours.
From Bismarck, we continued west on I-94 to Theodore Roosevelt National Park in western North Dakota. Since this was our first visit to this national park we spent the entire day exploring every nook and cranny. The North Dakota badlands provide the scenic backdrop to the park that memorializes the 26th president for his enduring contributions to the conservation of our nation’s resources. The park is divided into three units: the Elkhorn Ranch Unit, the South Unit, and the North Unit.
The Elkhorn Ranch Unit is a small section of the park that preserves the site of Roosevelt’s “home ranch,” the Elkhorn. Although no structures remain, foundation blocks mark the outline of the original ranch house.
Driving the 36-mile scenic loop drive is the best way to see the South Unit. Wildlife including prairie dogs, bison, feral horses, mule deer, and whitetail deer are commonly seen along the route. Along the drive we experienced a variety of habitats including river bottoms, grasslands, forested slopes, and coulees as the road traversed the broken badlands.
The North Unit has a 28-mile scenic drive. Along the drive you can see unique geologic formations called “cannonball concretions” and more grassland, peer into canyons, and enjoy great views of the Little Missouri River.
We saw lots of bison while touring the park. They pretty much go where they want, when they want and are afraid of nothing. When you come upon them in the road you just wait until they are ready to move on. A big bull could make one heck of a dent in a little car like ours.
There are numerous black-tailed prairie dogs
throughout the park. They live in large towns composed of many families. From
what we saw it looked like they were eating well. While on guard they sat on
their haunches with pot bellies bulging between their legs.
We searched long and hard for
the wild feral horses and finally found this small band of five that were led
by the gray stallion. He checked us out when we pulled up in the car. After
deeming us no threat he continued grazing.
However, this mare was very
protective of her colt. Note how beat up her hoofs are from living in the wild
without horse shoes.
She didn’t much like it when
another vehicle pulled up and got a little too close to the colt. We think the
guy made a wise choice by staying in his pickup!
The stallion wasn’t alarmed at
all and just kept on eating.
We saw so many wonderful
things in the park--far more than we have room to mention in our little blurb.
However, one thing that really fascinated us was the cannon ball concretions.
This is the first time we have come across them in our travels.
Concretions may have any shape but most are round. They are formed within rocks (shale, clay, sandstone, etc.) by the deposition of mineral around a core. More concretions will be exposed in the park as erosion continues.
Concretions may have any shape but most are round. They are formed within rocks (shale, clay, sandstone, etc.) by the deposition of mineral around a core. More concretions will be exposed in the park as erosion continues.
After a wonderful day in the
park we continued our trek westward towards Montana. We stopped for the night
in the little town of Glendive. We’ll talk about our Montana adventures in
another write-up.
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns