Utterly amazing....

Glacier Trip Roosevelt to Bismarck (12 of 15)
Originally uploaded by Olivia Linkel

Today we drove from Medora to Bismarck, ND. We were up early and hit Theodore Roosevelt National Park visitor center at 8 AM to pick up our ranger books. We watched the film and then took a tour of the MalPraire tese Cross cabin where Theodore spent time after his wife and mother died in the 1880's. Theodore is my favorite president and it was awesome to see some of the things I have read about in real life. After the tour, we filled out some more information and drove deeper into the park to take a hike. We saw a bison on the hill just before we went to hike and 4 wild horses crosses the road right in front of us. We hiked to a crest of a craggy hill through Prairie Dog town. They are a little creepy with their teeth and claws up close but interesting creatures to watch. After the hike, we returned to the visitor center and got the kids badges. We were on the road by 11:30 headed to Knife River Indian Villages NHS which is about 130 miles east.

At Knife River, there were several tribes that lived together as a community. They were farmers and buffalo hunters and lived in earthen lodges. The kids really enjoyed visiting this site and got into trying on the animal pelts.

Next we headed toward Bismarck which has the ugliest state capitol building in the US. Before we made it to Bismarck, we stopped in New Salem to visit Salem Sue. She is the world's largest Holstein cow and weighs about 20,000 lbs. While a little cheesy, this is the best of roadside America and we love it.

Since we are in Bismarck, we are in central time zone but we are sticking to mountain because tomorrow night, we will be back inSouth Dakota to pick up Jewel Cave. North Dakota is officially checked off as a state we have completed since we visited all 3 parks and the capitol building. More pics to come on FLICKR as the wifi here allows.