The No Prairie Dog Hike

I wanted to hike a short trail that started from the Cannon Ball Concretions and seemed to wind through the prairie of the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  Bob doesn't like hiking unless he is seeing some great scenery so chose not to go.

The blues and browns are prominent colors in the early light

I got to go early in the morning on a day that was lightly overcast.  It made for beautiful light along a wonderful route. I was able to hike close to lots of badland outcroppings and into eroding canyons.

I had great expectations of reaching the prairie dog community and then stalking them to get some great pictures.  But I was distracted by the scenery.  Then I spotted a mule deer, standing on a cliff and watching me.  Seconds later, I spotted a rabbit sitting so still as be invisible.

Mule deer watcher

Rabbit

Prairie and badlands formations

The day got better and brighter and I walked into a small canyon filled with hoodoos and concretions.

Close view of concretions and hoodoos

Another view from within the canyon

I was surprised to find cactus in both Montana and North Dakota. 

Another close and long view

Then somehow, I managed to completely miss the prairie dog town. Perhaps I had a little help from a bison.

Trail sign/ old Bison rub

I came back to the tour road near the Long X trail pullout, then took the tour  road back to the car. The scenery from the road, was not as dramatic as when seen from the trail which ran a lot closer to the formations.

I got to take a few bee pictures

Mid morning colors

  I considered the hike a great success, even without prairie dogs.

My Bad - Missed the North Dakota Badlands

I usually plan - or at least leave time for - at least one adventure a day. I think if you don't live your  journey, your destination is not as big a payback.

But I was trying to make sure I got back to Bozeman in time to run some errands like getting my hair cut and buying some new fleece outerwear to replace my twenty year old pants and jacket that are beginning to fall apart. So I didn't pay much attention to what was available to be seen in North Dakota and mostly planned to only stop at a library and try to get more pictures edited and get blogs ready for the hiatus while I'm camping in Yellowstone.

So imagine my amazement when I saw badlands and then came up to a rest stop at the edge of Theodore Roosevelt National Park and found there ARE more badlands to be seen. And many of the hills are on fire because brush fires have ignited veins of lignite within the hills and they are baking the hills until they turn red.

Another geological force at work here is slumping.  House-sized pieces of the hill fall off and then take years to slide down and be dissolved by rain. In fact a major slump has closed part of one of the scenic roads in the park while the slump is removed.

And there is a major petrified forest within the confines of the park.  But it would have taken me forty minutes to drive to it and then about three hours to hike through it without a camera.  With a camera, I might still be there. So I decided to just put this on my bucket list for next year.  Tent camping is only $7 per night with the Golden Age Pass. The Little Missouri River runs through all three units.

Here are a few pictures to give you a little teaser. For more information, explore this site. 

This park also has lots of information and artifacts from Theodore Roosevelt for you history buffs. You'll have to check to see which of the visitor centers has his material.

On the personal front, I'll be hiking with two friends in Yellowstone National Park when this publishes. Can't wait. I do need a little rest from these vacations, but I'll be ready to start them up again in November.