Theodore Roosevelt National Park

We started our visit to Theodore Roosevelt National Park at the North Unit. The north and south units are about an hour apart. Both areas are scenic and full of animals such as bison.

We parked the van and decided to hike to the prairie dog area. We hiked for about 45 minutes through the very dry valley between buttes before I heard a strange sound that I didn't think was a bird. The strange sound was a prairie dog probably telling the other prairie dogs that we had arrived. I turned to my companion to point out the prairie dog when over her shoulder I saw a bison. I said, "You have a bison behind you." How often do you hear those words? Not very. The bison was calming walking on oblivious to us. We sat down on the ground in this prairie dog town to soak up the prairie dog life.

The prairie dogs appeared to be nibbling on the roots of the prairie plants. I think I saw them rotating the roots like we humans rotate corn on the cob.

In the distance a pair of mountain bluebirds flew back and forth. Their brilliant blue plumage made them look Disneyesque. This is my first glimpse of a mountain bluebird. The bluebirds were too far away to catch a picture but I saw them clearly in the binoculars.

We took a nature guided hike with 21 spots to see that corresponded with a color pamphlet.

These odd red bumps on the side of the butte are iron ore deposits.

The southern unit is near Medora, North Dakota. Much of Medora is owned and operated by a non-profit called Friends of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The non-profit employs many students. Once the students go back to school, much of the town shuts down. We were able to find a campground that was still open.

The southern unit has more vegetation than the northern unit of the park.

We saw a dozen wild ponies on the prairie too.