Day 42

A grey morning. 5:45 and I was up. Took a piss by the trickle of a river running through Belfield and was on the bike by 7. 

It was 10 miles on old highway 10, and then 7 on interstate 94 again. Pretty simple ride, feeling a little hazy from the heavy sleep. Oil rigs and drilling operations on the roadside, pumping away mindlessly. But then, all within a mile or so, I saw dwarf sagebrush, several prarie dogs, and rising buttes on the horizon. I knew then I had finally made it west. And then to my left, the Earth gave way into a huge canyon. Sloping, eroded hillsides with colored stripes of stratified layers, covered with stunded junipers. Just like Wovoka's ghost dance prophesy in which the ground opened up, swallowing the white man and allowing the native people to return to thier traditional lifeways, the interstate dove into the canyon, semi-trucks following each other into the abyss. However, I rounded the corner and there was a visitors center. Prophesy unfulfilled. The view, however, was stunning.

From there it was only a few more miles into Medora. Still a sleepy town when I pulled in. The trinket shops lined the streets. Reminded me of Sonoma, or maybe Moab, flaunting its western heritage, surviving only on the beauty of its surroundings.

A view of Medora from above:

I camped at a state park south of town on the little Missouri river. After I set up camp, I decided it was time to do that loop around the park I had heard so much about. Hopped on Breezey again, and felt as light as a bird without all that weight.

Entered the park and took in the sights. My presence was announced by watchful prarie dogs...

Thousands of them!!!

The landscape was serene.

Look at those layers! Saw a coal vein here and there, and at one point, a distinct turquise layer- morrison formation perhaps. Don't know if they have that outside of Utah.

More prarie dogs. Cute little things. Some scrawny, some fat, with stubby tails. Sticking thier heads in the ground or standing straight up. They squeak like dog toys.

Hoodoos...

Pointy buttes and grassland...

Found some massive hunks of petrified wood. These must be darn old. There hasn't been a tree this big here in a long, long time.

And lo! The star of the show. The Bison. A sad remnant of its former hordes. Nonetheless, a grizzled, and yet classy looking beast.

And more badland vistas ...

Oh! Look closer, there's wild horses down there.

Can't take pictures of me, but there's Breezey, looking unburdened. In Desert Solitaire, Edward Abbey goes on a long rant about how all vehicles should be banned from national parks except bicycles. Understood why today. Don't know how he figured handicap accessibility into that plan, but the thought is spot on.

And the little Missouri. Teddy Rosevelt had a ranch a little forther north on it as a young man. It was never successful, but he credits his time in the Dakotas for helping him become president. The park was named for him in 1947.

After the 35 mile loop, I came rushing down into the valley where Medora lies. Sat for a time on a bench and people watched and then got some peanut butter from the grocery. Can't seem to live without the stuff...

What a feeling to roll into camp and have it all set up. Flopped right into the hammock and read for a while. Mr. Park Ranger pulls up and I says hey, I have money for you. He says ok, but this site you're in is reserved. Guess I didn't see the post when I came in this morning. To be fair, it was in a wierd spot (positioned for passing automobiles on the loop, not for actual people...). I says, darn and got ready to move, and I was gonna meet him at the ranger station to see where to move to, but just as I was biking over there (why walk when you can bike!?!) he honks and tells me the folks who's spot it was say I can stay for the night (they were already set up somewhere else). I thought that was awful nice, so I went over and thanked them. Good people from the eastern part of the state.

Dinner time! A good old fashioned western meal was in order, so rice and refried beans on tortillas it was.

Took my time with the evening chores and enjoyed the sunset over the field.

A good day. Tomorrow Montana.