Woken up at 6am by some music playing somewhere in the hotel. Not sure where it was but it didn't last very long, just long enough to wake me up. Eventually got back to sleep for a while. Woke up properly to find it was completely foggy. Had a hotel breakfast.
By the time we left, the fog had started to clear. Drove short distance to Cash Wise Foods to get some supplies. Ann then said she thought she'd left her straighteners on in the hotel bathroom. Drove back to hotel and unplugged them.
Then we made the short journey south to the entrance to the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. During our planning I discovered today is Fee Free Day for all US National Parks to celebrate the anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act(2020), so we got in for free. Stopped at the visitor centre to get a magnet earlydoors before setting off into the park. It consists of one scenic drive through the Badlands for about 14 miles. At the end you turn around and come back again. We decided we would just stop at each of the pull ins and take in the scenery. Saw some prairie dogs digging holes.
Two pull ins in, a guy started talking to us about our number plate. Had we driven from New York? We said yes. He had driven from Pennsylvania. He thought we lived in New York. We explained we were on holiday. Eventually he left and we could carry on enjoying the scenery. When we got to the next pull in, he was there. That's the problem with just one road. Luckily his wife had got out so he was busy talking to her. Saw some cannonball concretions.
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| Ball |
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| Ball in cliff |
I'll let you google it.
At the next stop there was a lookout area. Wandered to it and took some photos.
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| Panoramic |
On the way back to the car, a family had just arrived all wearing a group outfit of blue t-shirts saying 'Family Vacay'. There was more than one car full of them.
Gradually made our way to the end of the road, stopping to take photos on the way. Saw some bison poo but unfortunately no bison.
Reached the end called Oxbow Overlook. There actually was no oxbow lake there, just a large meander on the Little Missouri river.
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| No Oxbow |
Made our way back and then pulled over for a packed lunch. Whilst we were there we saw two walkers who looked lost. They consulted with the people in the only other car parked where we were, looking at maps. Then they walked towards us. Thought they were going to ask for a lift but they just walked past.
Eventually made our way back to the hotel. There is literally nothing else to do around here. I mean nothing.
Thought about going back to the same diner as yesterday for dinner, but decided to eat what we have lying about instead.
On the plus side I'm writing this at 7pm, which is an absolute bonus. Another longish drive tomorrow so I'll take all the rest I can get.
States visited - 9
Bison watch - low
Prairie dog watch - high
