50!

On Monday, from Dickinson, ND, we traveled to Theodore Roosevelt National Park in about a half hour.

Just one of the beautiful North Dakota vistas driving to the TR National Park

Our first stop of the day, TR National Park is a gem. In honor of a man with incredible vision from which we still benefit today by his creation of several national parks (among other important things), the TR National Park is three units, connected by the Little Missouri River.

The first unit we visited was Painted Canyon, where we saw spectacular panoramas.

We drove into Medora, and visited the South Unit of the park. Roosevelt came to North Dakota to heal after his wife and mother passed away in the same house on the same day. He grew to love the area, and purchased a ranch, and the cabin he lived in, the Maltese Cross, is located here.

The Maltese Cross is carved into the log cabin.

Driving through the park, we saw bison, prairie dogs, and wild horses. It's hard to get a good picture of a prairie dog!

A herd of bison (or buffalo?) crossed the road in front of us.

Do not approach the wildlife! Happily, no one did, these photos were taken from the car.

From the TR National Park, we traveled south through North Dakota. As in Montana, for miles and miles we saw nothing but  wide open spaces. I think it's good to know that such places still exist! It's so different from where we live! 

We stopped for our lunch picnic in Bowman. 

And shortly after that . . .  we reached the South Dakota border. Yay!!!! 50 states for Greg!!!!

Knowing anything after that would be anticlimactic, we drove into Wyoming to visit Devils Tower. Declared a national monument by Teddy Roosevelt in 1906, Devils Tower is a butte that rises dramatically from the prairie floor. It's become a popular spot for climbers, and Stephen saw a couple nearing the top.

We walked around the base and saw two climbers repelling to the bottom.

The climbers are really hard to see, but they are in the middle section of the butte, on the right

Even blown up, it's still hard to see them. One is wearing a white shirt, the other's is gray

From Devils Tower, we drove back into South Dakota. It was getting late, and passing through Sturgis on our way to the hotel in Rapid City, we said "Why not?" The 77th Annual Sturgis Bikers Week will be in August, which hundreds of bikers will attend. A very interesting place I doubt we'll ever return to!

Finally at the hotel, with a few minutes to unwind, tomorrow we'll be ready to tackle Mt. Rushmore!