Yellowstone Vacation Day 4: Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Tue, August 16th

We ate a hurried breakfast and then hit the road.

We hit a long patch of construction the likes of which none of us had ever seen. They had one crew member driving back and forth the long stretch in a little pick up that motorists had to follow, weaving in and out of cones, the entire way. It went on for miles! I have no idea how that truck knew where to take us - it was a mess and all looked the same to me. It was quite the little adventure.

Landed in Medora right at lunch time so we grabbed some gf pizza and then headed into the park. There wasn't much to see in the Visitor's Center so the boys grabbed their JR books and we headed on our way.

I was apprehensive at first because the first several pullouts weren't very exciting. Luckily, as we got further into the park and away from the entrance and roads, it really started to wow me.

[caption id="attachment_3061" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Boicourt Path[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3062" align="aligncenter" width="200"] Boys in a field of flowers[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3063" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Boicourt Overlook[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3064" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Boicourt Trail[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3065" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Beautiful Flowers[/caption]



[caption id="attachment_3067" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Scoria Overlook[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3068" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Scoria Point[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3069" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Scoria Point[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3070" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Wild Horses[/caption]



[caption id="attachment_3072" align="aligncenter" width="200"] Buck Hill[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3073" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Buck Hill Overlook. The Highest point in the park.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3074" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Buck Hill[/caption]



[caption id="attachment_3076" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Heart imprint on rock.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3077" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Wind Canyon River[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3078" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Wind Canyon Trail[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3079" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Wind Canyon[/caption]

If I could go back and do it all over again, I would spend more time in this park. Every trail was great and offered amazing views. The wildflowers were in abundance. It was a nice blend of the bluffs, trees, flowers, plains, and the river.

The prairie dogs were much less cautious here allowing us to get some good shots. They were so fun to watch!

We pulled over at just about every overlook and walked all of the easy trails in one day. After dinner, we went back into the park so that Tim could take some pictures of the moon and starts. I attempted some pictures, but didn't have a tripod and so it was a mess. It was really neat to be out there at night though! Apparently the bison thought so, too, because we came across two of them, right up by the road, on our way into the park. That will teach people to keep from speeding!

As it was, we only saw the southern portion of the park. I think it would have been worthwhile to see the northern part, especially because that's where some of the really dramatic rock formations are.

But, hindsight is 20/20. We didn't know then that we'd have extra time on our hands. We didn't want to shortchange Yellowstone. Oh well, live and learn. I hope I get back to ND some day.