Sunday, November 6, 2016

Theodore Roosevelt National Park's

SOUTH UNIT



(In real time I am closely following 2 things...the Presidential Election and the Standing Rock Pipeline Protest. I am still in shock that the Oregon Terrorists got NOT guilty verdicts???  They were not attacked by any  cops while they held a NWR hostage, and destroyed Federal Property while welding arms against the govt of the USA.... and a group of unarmed citizens who are exercising their right to protest are being abused and attacked by heavily armed police? Democracy is dying dead in America
.) 

I really wanted to stay in Theodore's north unit a second night...but time had begun to close in on me...and the weather was getting colder every day! So time to head out of the cold north.
  



The South Unit is a nearly 70 mile drive, but it is an easy one, and I reached the entrance in just about an hour with plenty of time to see the sights and even some time to pull over and read this plaque before I left the area of the North Unit. 




I found this to be curious...and wondered if I could find out more about this cowboy...googled the name and came up with only the marker I saw! Then a check on Find A Grave scored his grave and memorial.  There is a discrepancy of his middle name...John or Howard?  Im going to ask my sis to find his obituary she is the top dog on finding the death cert and obit in our research! As I type she is on her way back home..miss her so much. :0(

                                        

 
(a tie-down on a horse is what I refer to as a martingale, it keeps the horse from tossing his head up too far, and not a good idea if you plan to JUMP very high a horse needs his entire body for balance)

There's actually 2 visitor centers at the south unit..one right off the Interstate 94 West Exit, that you get on for only 10 miles, and the other is inside the park just out of the touristy Western  town called Medora, ND. I didn't take any photos of either VC! But I got this herd of wild horses, the rangers call them feral horses...so I assume they were at one time ranch horses. 




I used the same strategy to get my campsite secured, at Cottonwood CG and in a bit of a drizzle I found one and paid my fee and hung my tag on the post...then off to sight see!   More horses but darn this tree got in the way of my photo of this sweet blue roan foal on the right. 




saw many prairie dogs all fat and in good condition, I had hopes of seeing burrowing owl in one of these burrows but no luck on that. 

  



Nice to see American Bison and Wild horses grazing together!





MANY awesome rock formations...with striking colors







the white rock looks like you could reach out and scoop it up right? ANK its solid as....well Rock!  And below is one of the many hikes I took, this one followed the ridge line, and I admired the cacti growing along the edges...







My feet got a good work out! And so did my jaw...it keep dropping at the scenery along the way...






Found a nice flock of wild turkey...




and more Bison and Prairie dogs!











The Little Missouri River Bend Trail gives one a great view of the Little Missouri...from the top of the ridge.  








Gorgeous  fall color, in the Dakotas, it peaked in mid Sept,  




This cabin is the Maltese Cross Cabin, it sits right behind the VC inside the park...TR lived in it but it was not on this site it has actually been moved all over the place! But this is where it sits now!



Slept great as the pitter patter of rain on the van roof serenaded my slumber all night long and in the morning Casey and I had to make our way through Medora in the pouring rain.  There is a wonderful outdoor  Musical here...but it was already closed for the season (June 3- Sept 10)  I would have enjoyed seeing that!

I took this shot off the web of the Musical..The Greatest Show in the West 

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but this was my morning spent in Medora!


There's other interesting things in town too shopping, museums, hotels, and eateries. As well as the post office where I mailed my postcards to family and friends! Something I do every place I go...then we left town and it actually got worse!!




then Slowly but surely the further South on Hwy 85 toward South Dakota I drove the better it got...




And by the time I arrived in Belle Fourche, SD the sun was out I had to change into short pants, and stash all my flannel and fleece and remove my faux wool ear warmer and pin my hair up to stay cool!! From heat to AC in about 2 hrs time! So the claim to fame in Belle Fourche, SD is the Geographical Center of the Nation, now this includes Hawaii and Alaska as Smith Center Kansas claims the center of the continuous USA.






there's all 50 flags here...and no wind!



and on the grounds was Buckskin Johnny's Cabin 1876. 





It was nice to be back in the sunshine again after spending 7 chilly cold days in North Dakota. I can now say I've been to ND! And now I've returned to SD to see more of it as well! 



PEACE
Eleanor Roosevelt: You must do the thing you think you can not.

13 comments:

  1. You make me just want to jump in my truck and gooooooo. Love the colors of those horses! and more Bison. The shapes and colors of the mountains and hills are just so unusual to anything I have ever seen.

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    1. Hi Jo when I re-read my entries I wanna go back and take "that road" I had to pass by due to time constraints...so my wanderlust has been satiated a bit it is always in "ready to go mode" so I know exactly what you mean!

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  2. Beautiful landscapes. I bet after getting this flavour of them you will return. All eyes will be on America and the outcome of the election which will have repercussions world wide. I have never witnessed such an undignified campaign as this one and I just hope that the result is one that wont be regretted.
    After Kimbopolo decided to close her Blog and go to F B I'd just like to say thanks for all the time and effort you put into the blog. Its not only your personal record of your travels but for people like me its an eye opener into the diversity and richness of the American countryside.

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    1. Thanks for your words of encouragement...I enjoy keeping my blog, I've been a big journal keep for years! I only fear that blogger will close like the 3 other blog servers I've had in the past! Yahoo 360, Muliply, My Space all closed and I lost all my content! I like Facebook for somethings but the updates get lost in the shuffle so keeping my blog on FB is not really an option as my readers would never see it before it moves to the bottom of the pile.

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    2. Sondra you can back up your blogger posts to your PC.
      http://www.geekalicious.co.uk/2012/09/how-to-back-up-your-blogger-blog.html

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    3. I will have to check this out! Thanks!

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  3. TRNP was the first place I ever saw wild horses, but they looked pretty rough compared to yours. They looked like they needed a good grooming.

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    1. You may have been there is Spring? When horses shed the winter coat and they can look pretty bad at that time!

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  4. your pictures are beautiful and bring back lovely memories and some not so lovely but funny ... Did you learn how to pronounce Fouche? We were told that's what the people who live there call it, leaving out the Belle part. And it was pronounced Foosh. Anyway, we got our truck and fifth wheel stuck in the mud so bad when we stayed there that I thought we were going to have to live there forever. it just kept digging into the wet ground where we'd stayed for a night. While Bill was lying in the mud trying to get boards under the tire for leverage, I said 'oh Foosh we never should have stayed in this muddy RV Park. ' At least he laughed. For a long time I said 'oh foosh' whenever something annoying happened.

    I can't even talk about the verdict in the standoff case, I was so upset and I'm scared to death about tomorrow. I pray that tragedy will be averted.

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    1. LoL...I didn't ask how its pronounced...I thought Foosh tho. I only was there for a lunch stop and then I moved on. I flinch every time I hear his name spoken out loud so I can't imagine how I may react if it goes toward Him-I was crazy mad for 4 yrs during Bush's second term I couldn't believe he was reelected!

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  5. My great grandfather's brothers son is William Chaloner.

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    1. Wow how amazing this is a sad story of how he met his end.

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  6. Yes and his sister Caroline made that monument.

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