North Dakota (with a side of Manitoba)

North Dakota isn't the first place we circled on the map. But (big but), it has Teddy Roosevelt National Park, we know some folks from just across the border in Minnesota, and it was sorta on the way to the Badlands. So, we added it. Super happy that we did.

Turtle River where water and wind are working nature's magic

We started out at Turtle River State Park just outside Grand Forks on the banks of the Red River. Enjoyed some good food on the Minnesota side of the Red (check out the Blue Moose) and got a chance to catch up with friends of the "last time I saw you, your middle kid was wearing diapers and now he's entering college" variety. Always good to catch up! Turtle River has some fun trails and shady campsites. It is also close to the Kelly's Slough National Wildlife Refuge where we added more fun birds to our wildlife list - an American Avocet and pelicans, notably - and got to recreate a scene from Hitchcock's "The Birds" with swallows.

Our plan was to head up to Lake Metigoshe State Park but en route we called an audible and headed back across the border to camp and play at Adam Lake in Manitoba's Turtle Mountain Provincial Park. So very happy that we did - got to watch frolicking (aka hunting) hawks, and eagles. We saw beavers near their lodges. And...drumroll...after a sunrise kayak, afternoon bike ride, and then a sunset hike - we finally got a chance to see a moose with calf come down to the lakeshore to eat (sorry, too dark for pics).

Sunrise kayak on Adam Lake, Turtle Mountain Provincial Park, Manitoba

Geography is interesting in North Dakota. The eastern part was flatter than flat prairie. The north central part had the Turtle Mountains. And then you get to the western part of the state and the ND Badlands basically drop out from under you.

Plains...and then you round a corner to see this.

Teddy Roosevelt National Park is fantastic and somehow flies under the radar. We started at the North Unit - offering jaw dropping scenery and up-close time with herds of bison. It was hot and the rangers recommend against backcountry hikes (they have had a busy search and rescue season so far), but the hike options in the 3-5 mile range are fantastic. One took us to a "wild" prairie dog town where the critters chattered at us and put on quite the show. Another took us out to a scenic overlook to watch the sunset. And the Caprock Coulee trail started one morning with a crash course in sage tyoes, junipers, differential erosion, and then wound through a coulee up to rock/cliff side where we saw more deer and bison before dropping down along crazy rock formations. We were fortunate to get a first come camping site and the park seemed to be missing two legged upright animals (minus the age 60-something couple we saw biking who had pedaled over 47,000 miles in multiple countries - bad asses!)

The North Unit of TR National Park; lots of rugged beauty (sunset descending on the Little Missouri River)

Scoping feral horses from the highest accessible point in the South Unit (uh, wear better shoes, eh?)

The South Unit is very much Badlands, but has a different, slightly more polished vibe. We lucked into the one non-90+ degree day and took the opportunity to ride the road bikes around the Scenic Drive. Just amazing views in about every direction and we spotted feral horses from atop the Park's highest accessible hill (we got lots of funny looks wearing bike shoes), only to see more of them silhouetted on top of a ridge a few mikes later! That evening we had a close encounter with the largest mammal native to North America in the campground - we were walking back to the YOFOhome in the dark from a ranger program and heard loud snuffling and the ripping of grasses just off the road. A "wtf-do-you-think-you're-doing" snort stopped us dead in our tracks, and we realized we were about to pass some 6 or 8 feet from a huge bull bison. We used our seldom-exercised discretion and hung out across a one lane road until the majestic beast decided that we were allowed to pass.

Our North Dakota time started with "holy shit this place is flat - did we make a mistake coming here" and ended with a now familiar "dammit, we should've stayed longer." But, we had a date to keep in South Dakota - precious cargo was flying in to explore Southwestern South Dakota with us. But that's a different blog entry!

almost forgot - petrified wood - tons of it. not good for fires, but excellent for morale. Hike in to find two caches in the South Unit