Bismarck ND and Theodore Roosevelt

     WOW! Last night was SUPER hot in ND! Okay, it was really only 87 degrees BUT 50% humidity made it feel like closer to a thousand and I was not prepared! We boondocked at a Walmart so no power which of course means no air conditioning! Thank goodness walmart attire was appropriate, no one even blinked as I waltzed around in my moo-moo and head scarf soaked in icewater! REALLY pretty....

   We had to have all the windows open which was totally fortuitous as it made it possible to hear each and every stripe the parking lot stripers (not strippers) put down all night long! Did you know they use a generator to power the air compressors that paint? YUP! LOOOOOONG night! Grrrrrrrr…..psssssst……grrrrrrrr….. All. Night. Long. But Big Daddy put in some ear plugs and got some sleep while I played night guard, he is the driver after all. The good news is that it really underscored how much Molly and Shadow would have HATED the last couple days in the heat, the parking lots and the constant travel in this tiny space. So each day we are feeling more and more like we made a good choice.

Hmmm, walmart parking lot or more of this?

While in North Dakota we came across The Theodore Roosevelt National Park. I was totally blown away by the beauty and each time we visit a national park I am more and more grateful to Teddy Roosevelt for all his work to save our natural spaces. He came to this place in the North Dakota Badlands to soothe his soul after he lost his wife and Mother on the same day. We followed suit and used the day to soak in the glory of the surroundings and soothe our hearts. We encountered more Bison than I ever have in Yellowstone. 

And I have "seeing wild horses" on my bucket list and we got to see them too! Magical!!!!It really brought out the 9 year old in me, I wanted to start collecting pony stickers all over again. 

Some of you may know I fully intend to own a Prairie dog (or Fairy dog as Aiden says) at some point. They have HUGE prairie dog towns here, they were AWESOME! I am rabid about those little guys! Last night I made plans to sneak into the park under the cover of darkness with a shovel and a bag and git maself one of them thar critters. Sadly, Alan hid the truck keys and I think, as we were still hooked up to the fifth wheel, the family would have caught on. I'll have to wait until Texas where it's legal to own one. Or will I??????

 

 Theodore Roosevelt said we must “learn to read the wonder book of nature,” and I think we are teaching the kids, and reminding ourselves of how to do just that. We spent a long time talking about being a steward of the earth and how we can follow TR’s example and help protect the land. (Minus the stealing Prairie dogs part....) We spent the day marveling at the geologic wonders of petrified trees and cannonball corrations, hoodos and the muddy waters of the park. We read something saying the “tonic of wilderness healed and changed Roosevelt.” We feel healed and changed too, go on out there and connect with nature peeps! Onto Minnesota!

L.