A shower felt great this morning and I knew it would be needed as we were going to experience another hot day. Matthias and I broke camp, stopped in Medora for a few pictures and supplies, and hopped back on Interstate 94 for a few miles to the east where we picked up Highway 85 to the north towards Teddy Roosevelt National Park’s north unit. We stopped in tiny Fairfield at the Four Corners Café – the only café - for an 80-cent cup of coffee/tea and then pushed on to the park.
We stopped in at the north unit’s visitor center to peruse the books and trinkets and we watched a short video, something I hadn’t done on my first visit. Oh, the temperature was climbing outside… We pitched the tent at the Juniper Campground and then climbed back in the car to drive the 14 mile road through the park. We stopped at all of the informational and scenic pullouts and we walked about a mile and a half to a prairie dog town where I filled up my flash memory card taking pictures of those cute little guys.
We lunched at the picturesque River Bend Overlook where a ranger told us about the population of big-horn sheep that had been introduced into the park about 10 years ago. In his early days, she explained, Teddy Roosevelt considered animal conservation to mean “shooting and stuffing animals so others could see them.” By the time he became president, his view had obviously changed, as evidenced by the millions of acres of land he designated for conservation. But before the park came under protection, the population of big-horn sheep in the area became extinct. Originally, scientists believed that the species had died out and it wasn’t until the early 1990s when DNA testing was conducted to show that the species still survived out west in British Columbia. In 1996, and in secret to avoid meddling protests of animal rights’ activists, the National Park Service sent a team to British Columbia to capture, transport, and reintroduce a group of 20 big-horns (with approval of the Canadian authorities) into the park. The ranger estimated that the park can support a population of about 50 of these sheep, but the population has remained the same size since it was brought to Teddy Roosevelt.
Following this chat with the ranger, Matthias and I continued to the end of the 14-mile road at Oxbow Overlook, then returned to the visitor center to sip on cool sodas in the shade. The temperature today reached 91 degrees. We both indicated we’d like to move on towards the east (Minnesota!) the next day, skipping a return visit to the park’s south unit, because the forecasted temperature was even higher (around 94.)
We returned to our camp and sat in the shade. Matthias read his book while I wrote in my journal. For dinner, Matthias whipped up some ravioli and I cleaned up.
We stopped in at the north unit’s visitor center to peruse the books and trinkets and we watched a short video, something I hadn’t done on my first visit. Oh, the temperature was climbing outside… We pitched the tent at the Juniper Campground and then climbed back in the car to drive the 14 mile road through the park. We stopped at all of the informational and scenic pullouts and we walked about a mile and a half to a prairie dog town where I filled up my flash memory card taking pictures of those cute little guys.
We lunched at the picturesque River Bend Overlook where a ranger told us about the population of big-horn sheep that had been introduced into the park about 10 years ago. In his early days, she explained, Teddy Roosevelt considered animal conservation to mean “shooting and stuffing animals so others could see them.” By the time he became president, his view had obviously changed, as evidenced by the millions of acres of land he designated for conservation. But before the park came under protection, the population of big-horn sheep in the area became extinct. Originally, scientists believed that the species had died out and it wasn’t until the early 1990s when DNA testing was conducted to show that the species still survived out west in British Columbia. In 1996, and in secret to avoid meddling protests of animal rights’ activists, the National Park Service sent a team to British Columbia to capture, transport, and reintroduce a group of 20 big-horns (with approval of the Canadian authorities) into the park. The ranger estimated that the park can support a population of about 50 of these sheep, but the population has remained the same size since it was brought to Teddy Roosevelt.
Following this chat with the ranger, Matthias and I continued to the end of the 14-mile road at Oxbow Overlook, then returned to the visitor center to sip on cool sodas in the shade. The temperature today reached 91 degrees. We both indicated we’d like to move on towards the east (Minnesota!) the next day, skipping a return visit to the park’s south unit, because the forecasted temperature was even higher (around 94.)We returned to our camp and sat in the shade. Matthias read his book while I wrote in my journal. For dinner, Matthias whipped up some ravioli and I cleaned up.
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