Saturday, September 9, 2017  

Last night, we made the decision to travel south and enter America in North Dakota. We will take a few days and explore Theodore Roosevelt National Park and then head to Montana. Hopefully, we can hook up with our friends, Ted and Alice, who have a part time home in Bozeman. It is still a plan in flux, but at least we have a general direction for today. We enjoy our last breakfast in Canada and then finish packing up. As if she didn’t do enough to help us out last night, we ask the owner for another favor. As we were planning on being in Canada another week, we have some extra Canadian currency, we would like to use. So, we ask her if we could pay for a night in cash and get a credit issued to our credit card. There is no hesitation on her part in helping us further. This will leave us with about 35 Canadian dollars to get rid of, which we will use on gas and lunch. Things are working out good under the circumstances.

Near the Border

We get on the road around 10:15. We drive straight south for an hour before entering the town of Brandon, Manitoba. We stop at the Wok Box for lunch. It is kind of like Noodles and company and we have some nice Asian bowls, one spicy, one not as our last Canadian meal. Then we spend our remaining cash on gas and continue south towards the border.  We drive by Turtle Mountain Provincial park, which is part of the International Peace Garden. We reach the border and are the only car at the crossing. It is probably a normal slow day here at the border, north of the small town of Dunseith, North Dakota. Not slow enough apparently, as we have to wait until our last crossing to be inspected and possibly rejected. They ask us to pull into a small Quonset hut on the side of the road. They poke around the car a bit, go over our entry declarations, and are really very nice about things. Convinced that we are not smuggling any Canadians across the border, they let us enter the country and we are on our way.

National Park

We drive though Minot on the way to Watford City, North Dakota. Along the way, Carol searches for a place to stay tonight and we settle on the Black Gold Suites, a new hotel in the area. When we reach town, we continue driving as we decide to visit the North Section of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, this evening instead of tomorrow. It is a nice evening so why not. We arrive at the park just before 5 P.M. After traveling through farmland, we have entered a different environment. It reminds us of the badlands in South Dakota.

Evening Colors

The early evening light is perfect for highlighting the different colors in the hills. The road starts to climb and we see a pheasant dart across in front of us. Shortly after, I see something red and blue. It is flashing its brilliant colors in my rear-view mirror. I am pulled over by Mr. Park Ranger. Apparently, I was doing 38 in a 25 zone. When he asked if I knew what the speed limit was, I said 35. He says it changed down to 25 a few miles back. After running my information, and a promise from me that I will keep the speed down, he lets me off with a warning. Well, I kept my promise for the next 10 miles or so.

At the Oxbow Overlook

The road winds and climbs until it ends at the oxbow overlook which has a nice view of the Little Missouri River down below it. We get a few nice pictures and then start the slow drive back. We passed several informative areas on the way up and plan on making a few stops as we return.

 

No Passing Lane

It is now almost 6 o’clock and a perfect time to maybe spot some wildlife. And that is exactly what we do. About a mile down the road, I spot movement and we see a deer walking along one of the hills and then a few more along the side of the road in front of us. Five minutes later we spot a large male buffalo, hard to miss as he is walking along the road. At least he is staying in his lane as he passes us by. As we continue, we spot another one in the distance and then a third is along the side of the road. More wildlife here in several hours than we saw in several weeks in Canada. Go figure. The buffalo here are bigger than the ones we saw yesterday in Riding Mountain.

Dinosaur Eggs?

We stop at a turn out that is near some weird looking rocks and get out to explore. There is a man and woman nearby with a dog (unleashed) that is barking and then I watch as he starts swatting at something with his walking stick. He sees us and says it’s a rattlesnake and continues to hit and kill it. I feel like saying “What the hell are you doing, it is a National Park, his home, not yours” but his size makes me keep my mouth shut. He is proud of himself as they walk by us and head down a trail. Where is Mr. Park Ranger now? I just do not understand some people. We walk by the very small and very dead snake, to take a look at the odd rocks here. The eroded badland hills are white and yet there are chocolate brown rocks in front of us, several of which are almost perfectly round. I really do not know what to make of it but I am sure this must be a geologic anomaly. Maybe they are dinosaur eggs.

Evening Walk

When we leave, the lighting brings out the subtleties of the colors on the hills. We spot another buffalo on the road and he is also staying in his lane. As we continue our drive, we see several larger male buffalos and then we reach the park entrance or in this case the exit. It was a nice late afternoon and evening in the park. We drive back to Watford City and check into our motel. It is closing in on 7:30 so we decide to just order a pizza for dinner and stay in. Tomorrow morning, we will explore the North Unit of the national park and then drive to Montana.