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Roosevelt National Park…South Unit

On our way west from Lake Superior we felt a need to stop in Bemidji, Minnesota.  As a teenager I rode my bicycle from Seattle to New York and spent the 4th of July there.  I have fond memories of that day including this statue of Paul Bunyan and his trusty  sidekick Blue Ox. The statues have been there since 1937 and look in marvelous shape.

Had to get a picture of one of the many wind turbines we drove by on Interstate 94 traveling west across North Dakota.
The view from our campground!
Our campground “Boots Campground” is located in Medora just south of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park’s South Unit. We cycled our tandem bike around the loop in the center of the park.

At one of the waysides in the South Unit there was a free exhibit going on that let us look directly at the Sun through two different telescopes with powerful filters on them.  We wish we had a screen shot of what we saw but, oh my was it amazing.

Not only did this volunteer couple know a lot about observing the Sun, they were experts at solar energy for RVs. We picked there brain a bit.
The beginning of a nice 30 mile tandem ride through the South Unit’s only road. I thought North Dakota was flat……WRONG!
No, we did not run it over with our tandem but it was the largest snake we have seen to date on this trip.
Looks like a nice downhill coming up!

The South Unit or RNP has many bison but we only ran into a handful of them….not literally thank goodness!

This bison was “King of The Hill” for the moment. Can you find him?
Oh my is the scenery gorgeous. Not sure what the Grand Canyon has on this place but…..we will see in January.

Here are some good pictures of the scenery we had all afternoon while cycling.

Some other wildlife included about a billion prairie dogs and a number of wild turkey.

This little prairie dog was not bashful but made all sorts of strange noises when we stopped the bike to take its picture.  These abundant characters live together in what are called “prairie dog towns” placed throughout the park.
These “turkeys” did not let us get close enough for a truly good picture but they are magnificent.

 

3 Replies to “Roosevelt National Park…South Unit”

  2. I’ve been enjoying your updates Roy and Laurie, thank you! We rode that Theodore Roosevelt loop as well. The last several miles in the dark. We also had a close encounter with a bison on that ride, as well. Thanks for the memories:-)

  3. Wow! Amazing! I bet the pictures don’t do it justice. Go ahead rub it in. You don’t have to go back to work! I am truly happy for you! Thank you for sharing your journeys with us.

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