Legendary

One of my favorite books is Mornings on Horseback, by David McCullough (1981) which describes Theodore Roosevelt's early life, including the time he spent in North Dakota after the death of his first wife and mother on the same day. We are now in Medora, North Dakota, Headquarters of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park, and looking forward to experiencing the countryside that gave birth to the future environmentalist.

The drive here, from South Dakota, was in the rain.

It began raining last evening and Frederick had to do the outside work in a steady downpour. When we got on the road, the rain continued.

The town of Buffalo, South Dakota, population 330, and the largest town in far western SD along route 85 that took us all the way from Spearfish to I-94 right outside of Medora - 210 miles.

The Buffalo area is the beginning of a glimpse of what is to come - the oil fields of North Dakota.

The road north, and...

a welcome to North Dakota.

At this point we saw a sign that read - White Butte, El 3,506 feet, Highest Point in North Dakota - with an arrow pointing east. There it is, White Butte in the distance (not the little bump in the foreground).

At the campground, called Red Trail, this young man, Ben, led us to our site. Later, as we passed by the office, he was outside with a karaoke set-up serenading the campground. Good for him, but he should not give up his day job.

After un-hitching we headed out for a bit of exercise after the long drive.

The rain had stopped, but the skies were still threatening.

There is a western feel to Medora, population 129. It is the county seat of Billings County and the only incorporated place in the county. Pretty sparsely populated out here!