We drove through five hours of nothing North Dakota to arrive in 95 degree heat at Theodore Roosevelt National Park. North Dakota is a place of extremes–negative 40 degrees in the winter and over 100 in the summer, badlands and prairies, wildlife and petrified forest, desert and caves.
Driving into the campground, we encountered a bison herd with calves and some wild horses. The horses were swift and elegant, the bison domineering and impressive. They’re so huge. I was happy to get pictures of them from the safety of our car as these wild bulls weigh 2,000 pounds.
We quickly set up our tent, now relying on muscle memory after 35 plus times. Our campsite had both elk and bison scat. I will not be getting up during the night for a trip to the bathroom. We woke with the sun and birds to a beautiful day. The forecast called for heat so we were on the Jones Creek Trail before 7 am. It was a level 3.5 mile out and back trail through a large meadow crossing the now dry Jones Creek several times. Our first encounter with bison was about 20 minutes in. One big lone bull came plodding along the trail towards us, heading to the campground. We took pictures then got off the trail onto a hillside as he got closer and passed. Soon after, another solo bull came trudging down the path, also apparently interested in what’s going on at the campground. We got off the trail while he too passed by. Continuing on a short distance, now five large bull bison came toward us. As before we climbed the hill to let them pass. The problem was, they didn’t. Two stayed below us on the trail, while three, unbeknownst to us, crested the hill behind us and circled us from behind. We were trapped, surrounded by five large bull bison who weren’t moving. They were staring at us. Mostly staring at Ernie. I was ready to climb a tree. These bulls were no more than 20 feet from us. Slowly, trying not to panic, we moved down and crossed the trail near a bison who had his backside toward us and ran into the thick weeds and high brush. I was not even thinking about rattlesnakes. The bison finally moved on, the largest staring at Ern the whole time. I said an “Amen” to my 15 minutes of prayer to praise God and we continued our hike. It was very scary.
Our next encounter was a herd of 15 adults with 4 calves. They weren’t on our trail and we quickly scurried on as they are protective of their young. We’re not done yet as two more bulls came down the trail, also heading to the campground. This park is 110 square miles and all the bison are heading to the only area with people. At their pace they’ll arrive at the campground around 8 am when everyone is up having breakfast. More bison were on the distant hillsides giving us a total of 29 on the Jones Creek Trail which should be renamed the Bison Byway. At the end of the trail we stopped for snacks and water. Praise God we saw no bison on the 3.5 mile trek back to our car as the bison were all now posing for pictures and chasing people out of the campground.
The car temperature read 102 so we drove 5 miles to the nearby town of Madera for ice cream and cold drinks. That evening we were educated on the park’s geology by Ranger Andy at the ranger talk held in the amphitheatre. I became acquainted with the woman tenting across from us. She supports a missionary in Rome who worked with Lauren. I’ve even met the woman she knows that had been serving in Rome but recently moved to Florence. It’s hard to believe someone I met in North Dakota supports the same mission work in Rome our daughter works with. It’s a small world.
Our next destination is Voyageurs National Park but we may have to stop at a laundromat on the way. Ern says his t-shirt smells like sausage and his socks should be burned. Number of clothing items thrown out so far–3.