Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota

We arrived at Theodore Roosevelt National Park at the western border of North Dakota on September 10th. Lots of coverage of the September 11th 10 year anniversary. Probably North Dakota is a safe place to be if there were a terror attack. Enough of those thoughts.

The first stop coming from the east is the Painted Canyon. A nice overlook of the badlands with lots of color. It was a hot day, almost 90 degrees and 3 in the afternoon. We want to go back and see it at dusk when it will be cooler and prettier with the shadows. Next we headed to the Medora Visitors Center to see the movie on the park and the small museum on Teddy Roosevelt. We caught the ranger talk at his Maltese Ranch Cabin which was very interesting. Tomorrow is going to be hot (mid 90s) so we are planning an early hike and then a drive on the scenic road in the afternoon. On Sunday the day started pretty and about 70 degrees. By the end of our 90 minute hike it was over 80 in the sun. Stopped for a fun picnic then drove the scenic road for 35 miles. Lots of stops for short hikes, fortunately there was a nice breeze to keep it from being too hot. At one point a herd of buffalo blocked the road. Lots of moms, babies, and a couple big bulls. The biggest didn't like us taking pictures and ran up beside the car and gave a low rumbling growl. Good thing he ambled on. We also saw some wild horses on a hill close by. Tomorrow we are doing a hike at Painted Canyon and hope to see more horses there. Then on to the North Unit of T Roosevelt National Park. No cell or wifi for a while so I won't be blogging much.