North Dakota NP



























 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 that a lightning fire started in 2018 ignited a coal layer and it still burned today. The last one in the early 1900s burned for about 26 years. After the coal burns it heats up the sandstone layer above and turns it into a porcelain like hard rock (like pottery in a kiln). For me the coolest thing were the chimney spires made out of this cooked sandstone. They form when air shafts are made during the coal layer burn and the sandstone forms what look like chimneys coming out of the hillsides. 

We were also able to see bison, wild horses, prairie dogs and an antelope. I’m still hoping to see elk or mountain sheep. Beautiful views and good hike walking weather. 

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