Big Mona On The Move

 Today we drove 315 miles from Medora to Casselton, ND. Again such expanse of land for farming, oil pumps, and hay!  The difference was that we saw more water in the form of lakes once we past SD85 on I-94.  The fields were greener and the silos were larger as were the refineries. We even passed the Enchanted Highway  I had to look that one up  it is a collection of large road art spaced along the highway.  Too bad we couldn’t stop because it looked pretty cool. Worse of all was the wind. 17-20 mph. Dennis had a tight grip on the steering wheel. It did not relent. He even pulled over at a rest stop for lunch and a short break. Our stop for the night is a hotel and RV park. Dennis really wanted to use their pool to relax, but it was a water park and you had to pay for it. He had to settle for watching the swimming on the Olympics. Bad news was that we thought our water pump stopped, but no, a circuit for the electric on the kitchen side has gone out. It’s al...

 Today we explored the North Unit of the Theodore Roosevelt National park and Painted Canyon. Before getting to the park, an hour drive, I was still amazed at the expanse of land. In addition to the hay and corn there were acres of sunflowers. I guess the use them for cattle food also. There were also oil rig pumps to the left and right. As we entered the gate the ranger wanted to know where Dennis got his hat. She had been looking for one for her husband. She even took the hat to write down the tag of the maker. Nice😎 So another scenic ride out and back 28 miles. The landscape is so interesting. We saw bison and feral horses and prairie dogs, but no mountain sheep. It was noon mountain time when we got there (changed time zones to get there).  The cannon ball mineral formations and the hoo doo formations of cap stones with minerals and soil underneath them were easily seen. The biotonic ash formations gave the bites their blue color. I’d say we’ve learned about geology this ...

 First the drive in to Medora, ND was nothing but land! Some had cattle on it, some with corn, and some with different types of hay. All were wide spaces of land. If the hay was bailed it was left in the fields. I just couldn’t believe all the open land.  Humor was that where we were camped a motor coach came in with the Steelers emblems enlarged and painted all over it. The couple was very nice. They actually winter in Fort Myers, Fl.  Today we traveled the scenic route of the southern section of the Theodore Roosevelt National park. It was very interesting to see his first hunting cabin he had built in ND. Dennis barely fit through the door. The ranch hands slept up in the roof top with access from outside.  We were able to take several short hikes. The best part was the weather. We expected 100 degree temps, but it was over cast and breezy so high 80s felt nice.  The layers of the sedimentary rock were very distinctive. One layer was coal. There were warnings...