July 2, 2013 Travel to Teddy Roosevelt National Park - North Unit

We left our little spot this morning heading north to Glasgow then east on US-2.

Past large stretches of farms and ranches - the railroad tracks on one side and electricity on the other.

The pictures do not really reflect the vividness of this yellow color - it is beautiful:

As we got closer to the border of Montana and North Dakota, the scenery started to change.  This is where the big oil boom is now taking place.  Lots of construction all over.  For miles along US-2, each side is being dug up.  In some areas, it looks like they are widening the roads, in other areas, they are laying down pipes - water? oil? or both depending on the area???

We were through this area in 2007 when it was all sleepy little towns.  Now it reminds me of the stories I read about with the gold rushes and the stories I heard during the building of the Alaskan pipeline.  There are lots of jobs here, not only with the oil business but with all the infrastructure needed to support the increased population.

Burning off the gases:

Oil rigs all over:

Lots (and lots) of temporary housing:

Oil Storage Tanks all over (notice the horses in front):

Many of these dot the landscape:

And in between - farms and ranches.  I love this contrast - there was a cloud overhead:

Drilling a new oil well:

More temporary housing:

Farms and oil rigs in the background:

This is Watford City - most of these buildings are all new since the oil boom. 

And we finally made it to Theodore Roosevelt National Park - North Unit.

The campground was almost empty and it was beautiful.  There is no hookups and it is suppose to be hot so we will see how long we last - LOL!  We are hoping to stay thru the weekend and for $5.00/night - pretty good deal!  However there is no internet or cell service - .  Oh well, I could always go into town.

We did decide to head into town to check it out - plus we needed gas for our generator.  As we left the campground, the local herd was crossing the road.  The babies were so cute - .

Town was so crowded - WOW!  We stopped in the American Legion for happy hour and supper.  We talked with a few of the locals and it was interesting to say the least.  The pros of this boom is that it brings lots of jobs.  But the cons is that prices have gone sky high.  We met one woman who lived here most of her life.  Her landlord doubled the price of her apartment and she is now living with friends - she could not afford it any more.  (These stories really remind me of the books on the gold rush days.)  Very interesting.

Back home we were entertained by the herd close to our RV.  Dusty and Bella were fascinated.  I could not get any pictures because of the dusk and I did not want to use flash.

Tomorrow we will be exploring the park so stay tuned and enjoy today.

Stats for today:

Miles Traveled: 199 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Montana: Yellowstone Road; SR-117; US-2

North Dakota: US-2; US-85

July 1, 2013 - Museums, Rivers, and Statues

Happy July to everyone and Happy Canada Day to our Canadian friends.

I woke this morning and could not get on the internet no matter what I did.  The tablet showed a strong signal so I knew it was not that.  Hmmmm, I think we need to find and stop at a Verizon store.    

We paid for another night here, found out where the Verizon store was located and then went off on a road trip.

We wanted to see the overlook of the confluence of the Milk and Missouri River but took a wrong turn and ended up at the bottom of the spillway:

We finally did find the right road and climbed the hill with the Tracker.

Lewis and Clark explored this area in on their way to the Pacific Ocean.  They anticipated finding a large river that originated in the Rocky Mountains and finally emptied into the Missouri.  This river could be the northern boundary for the Louisiana Purchase as well as a valuable trade route and source of fur.  Around noon, on May 8, 1805, the Expedition reached this river and named it the Milk River because of its color.

The Milk River is in the center of the photo (going up and down).  The Missouri river is the one that stretches from left to right in the photo.  These rivers meet in the center of the photo:

Downstream, the Milk river mixing with the Missouri - notice the color differences:

Further downstream:

We hung out on the overlook just enjoying the sights and then we headed back down.  The road down (and yes, I was driving ):

(We have friends that would call this the “Diane” road.  If I were not driving I would be either screaming or closing my eyes - LOL!)

From there we went 20 miles to Glasgow to the Verizon store.  They did not know what happened to the tablet and re-activated it a few times until it started working again.  ????  They are still not sure what was wrong but did some me the different ways to activate.

While we were in Glasgow, we went to see the sculptures on the hill:

Still could not find any other info except that they are for sale by Buck Samuelson.

Further on down the road was the tin man - notice his heart :

Our next stop was the Valley County Pioneer Museum.  This was on the front lawn:

Many bones in the museum - most found in the area.  This Buffalo Skull was found by Alexa Barnes when she was 10. She found it in the summer of 2000. While playing in the Missouri River, she saw teeth sticking out of the water. She has donated this to the museum. She also had three other skulls that she has found.

Cool!  I wonder how many other people in this area have skeletons in their closet - LOL (I couldn’t help it!)

Neat early camper:

This Tee Pee was set up in the middle of the museum.  It is made with elk skins - more info below:

Many mounts:

Even a Jackalope (for my BIL Bill - they do exist ):

Scary - but this cat does have Dusty’s markings:

What a beautiful bar - reminds me of some of the older miner’s bars back east:

An early hair dryer - YIKEES!

The beadwork - WOW:

 

I remember these (Rosann, this is for you ):

Our last stop was to pick up some groceries at Albertsons before we headed back home.  We are heading further east tomorrow so stay tuned.

Please keep the families of the 19 Fallen Firefighters from Arizona in your prayers.  What a terrible tragedy.

I will leave you with a prayer that we found in the museum:

Enjoy today!