Time To Move North

It is quite warm here in the North Dakota badlands, too warm to do any daytime hiking, so we decided to press on northward, stopping at the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park on the way. This meant heading back east, before going north.

But first a stop at Painted Canyon, which is the first access to TR NP when traveling from the east on I-94. It is also the only fee-free access to the park. The Painted Canyon Visitor Center is also a highway rest area and the only visitor center we’ve stopped at where half the parked vehicle are tractor-trailer rigs. It has a very small visitor center, but a great view of Painted Canyon, the archetype of a badlands view with eroding multi-colored cliffs, rolling grasslands and even the lone bison bull meandering through.

We had originally intended to stop for the morning ranger-led rim walk, but arrived over a half hour early, so we decided to take the trail down into the canyon and back. It was a spectacular steep short stroll, about a mile round trip, down among the sandstone and clay walls, along the bottom of hills that seemed to be melting into the landscape and through wooded glens at the bottom of the canyon, all the while following a bison track along the trail. After a short, very steep climb back to the top. we were on our way again.

First stop, Belfield, where US 85 intersects and where we hoped to find some provisons…but there were none to be found. There were no food to be bought in Belfield, except chips and candy bars at the gas station. A query to the GPS showed the nearest groceries on our route were in Watford City, 15 miles beyond the entrance to the North Unit of the park. To Watford City we went.

As we drove up US 85, we noticed that we were back in the North Dakota oil patch again, lots of truck traffic, drilling rigs or well sites every mile or so, and man-camps. The signs usually say “RV Park”, but they are unlike any we’ve stayed at. These are rows of container buildings or trailers, usually surrounded by some ragged rows of RVs and fifth-wheel trailers. This is the abode of oil workers. It became obvious why most of the businesses in downtown Belfield were bars.

The traffic grew thicker as we approached Watford City, particularly with heavy truck traffic. The town has an old small grain elevator in its center, but this is a relic of an older time, as the town was now surrounded by businesses supplying the oil fields and with fields of fancier man-camps. They now had names like “Watford Glen”. We even passed one that had big open house flags out front. Downtown was older and more conventional with small stores and a couple of small, but urban standards, supermarkets. Mike’s Supervalu, where we stopped was actually pretty well stocked and we were able to reprovison, finally.

On the way into town we saw a large trailer with smokestacks parked near the entrance to one of the camps. The American Smokehouse, the trailer graphics proclaimed. On the way out, we stopped for lunch. We ordered a pulled pork sandwich for Ellen and a rib meal for Steve. It was take-out only so we fired up Speedy’s generator, turned on the big air conditioner, and had a really good BBQ lunch in comfort.

It was then off to the North Unit, 15 miles back down US 85. It is a lot quieter and more empty here, but just as warm. The campground is five miles up the scenic drive and is almost as far as we can go. It, like in the South Unit, is right along the Little Missouri River. It is in a much flatter and wider river basin and is in a large, almost formal, cottonwood grove. The sites are large, open and many have good shade, a delightful place to spend some time.

As we entered the campground, we noticed a sign “Buffalo Are Dangerous, Keep Away”. While walking across the grass common in the center of our loop, the fresh buffalo chips and dust wallows were obvious….and we know that the bison wander through the campgrounds.

While we were at the ranger talk last evening, as the ranger was describing Teddy Rooesvelt’s prowess at identifying bird songs, a loud snorting and grunting came from the back of the amphitheater. As a young boy got up and started to walk back toward the sound, the ranger, in a rather understated manner, said “You don’t want to do that; the bulls are in rut and they can be a bit aggressive”. For the rest of the presentation he snorted and grunted as he settled down the night in a wallow in the back. After the talk, people whose campsites were that direction went left or right instead.

We had originally meant to do the scenic drive tomorrow and maybe a hike, but they have the drive closed for repairs from mile 6 onward. According to the park newspaper, it is still open to walkers and bicycles, so we may go for an early ride instead, before either spending a lazy day or pushing on towards Glacier NP. It is still expected to be hot.