Page 34 - USA ROAD TRIP SUMMER of 2000

A most satisfactory day in the park!

TEDDY ROOSEVELT NP- SOUTH UNIT

Tuesday - We entered the park in the early morning with Barber’s

Adagio for Strings playing on the CD. The early morning soft
golden light and the colors in the rocks and vegetation go very

well with classical music.

Saw the badger again and it was apparent that it was a she, not a
he. This time she was with her two almost fully-grown babies. The

babies saw us and hightailed it back to the den with Mom in hot
pursuit but keeping a wary eye on us.

Ate our breakfast in the car on an overlook and then set out for a

hike.

Lois has just astounded me. She seems to have lost all anxieties

about being in wild spaces. We had many trails to choose from –
most unmarked. We forded the Little Missouri River and simply

headed out into the countryside – on no particular trail. We did
look back for a landmark to shoot for and then struck out for the

canyons. We were out for the entire morning climbing up slopes
of people trails and animal paths. The only other people we saw

were on horseback. There were no other hikers for the 4 to 5

hours we were out and about.

On the way back, we headed up over an unmarked ridge and
down a ravine making for our assigned landmark on the horizon.

Reached the river too far north and had to bushwhack along the
edge until we could find a safe place to ford. The river in that area

is about 2 to 4 feet deep in the middle and 30 feet wide. We found
a shallow spot with stones and only got a little wet. This was not

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