We have been blessed to see so many wild animals in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, including American Bison, Black-tailed Prairie Dogs, wild Horses, wild Turkeys, and Big Horn Sheep—everything except for an elk which are rarely seen even by USNPS employees. The wild horse herds in the South Unit have ancestry dating back to the Wild West days of the late 1800s. Some say they are descendants of Crazy Horse’s herd, while others say their genetics are from the days in the late 1800s when ranches would turn horses loose, and catch and break them as needed. They look like pets, but are not at all docile.

Yesterday, we drove through the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. We immediately saw wild turkeys, and as we drove further bison crowded the road, stopping traffic. And on the way out, Big Horn Sheep were feeding along the scenic drive. 

The North Dakota Badlands in and around Theodore Roosevelt National Park are not as pronounced as the Badlands of South Dakota, but still provide beautiful landscapes. The Little Missouri River provides a scenic backdrop from the high viewing spots along the road.

We’ve seen more prairie dogs and prairie dog towns in Theodore Roosevelt National Park than anywhere we’ve visited. These are Black-tailed Prairie Dogs. They were seemingly everywhere, busy as could be.

Also, we both saw our first wild horses. A long hike to the original, but now unused, Visitors’ Center provided an opportunity to photograph a small group in the distance. Further along the road, there were horses atop a hill, overlooking the gawking visitors. And, of course, American bison could be seen throughout the NP.

Kay said I was asleep in bed last night before 8 pm; I thought it was more like 8:15 pm. We both woke early, and with containers of hot coffee, were on the road about 6 am for our longest drive of the trip. We drove through Fargo, but didn’t slow down for fear of the “shredder” from the movie Fargo. Switching drivers about every two hours resulted in a pleasant drive of over 600 miles, arriving in Dickinson, North Dakota, about 4 pm (time changed from CDST to MDST). After checking into a clean, but otherwise sleazy motel (Rodeway Inn), we drove the 71 miles to Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Unit, checking off another longtime “life list” item!

Theodore Roosevelt NP consists of three units: North, South, and Elkhorn Ranch. The North Unit is quite rugged, with substantial geological formations of various colors of clay and sandstone. The Little Missouri River winds and meanders its way through the the Unit, creating a myriad of photo opportunities. Bison roam freely, turkeys are found throughout the Unit, and Big Horn Sheep graze on the grassy slopes. We arrived at the North Unit late afternoon, lucky to find American Bison crossing the scenic drive in the park, causing a “bison jam” in the process. As dusk approached, Kay saw Big Horn Sheep just off the scenic drive, and they posed for several minutes for photographs. Visiting this NP is a life list item for me.

Someone tried stealing my bicycle last night! Fortunately, the bicycles were locked to the Thule carrier as someone attempted to steal the still new TREK Dual Sport. I found it off the rack but still secured with a cable lock about 5:15 am even though the car was parked in front of the room with a balcony no less; it’s likely we won’t recommend this motel! And, thank goodness for the security of a lockable Thule rack.

A stop in Kansas City allowed repair of one of the hearing aids and a bit of shopping at Costco.

Back on the road, we drove north to Sioux City, IA. Widespread high water remains over much of the area along I-29 between St. Joseph, MO, and Sioux City after the catastrophe flooding in late spring and early summer. 

We arrived in Sioux City late in the afternoon, checked-in at the motel, and spent a quiet evening before early bed.

It’s that time of year, again. A birthday “wish” trip, a couple “life list” items, and almost unbearably hot and humid weather in Hot Springs Village is pushing us north, and then west for a couple of weeks. 

Leaving home about noon and a quick stop at BassPro allowed me to pick up Kay in North Little Rock about 2pm. From there we drove to Joplin, MO, to overnight. This will shorten tomorrow’s leg significantly.

The month-long birthday celebration has begun. Having driven to Memphis yesterday, we are attending Photo Expo 2019 today at Graceland’s Guest House Hotel featuring a great vendor display and an impressive list of speakers. Making the most of the vendors, “Kay” bought a new photo printer, photo paper, travel tripod, and a Sony a7riii mirrorless camera (Kay “bought” these things because the Bedford Camera account is in her name).

One of the highlights of the weekend was a trip with friends Dan, Pat, Vic, and Sharon to Marlowe’s Ribs and Restaurant via a pink Cadillac limousine; the barbecue was great, and we recommend this place.\

Another highlight was visiting with granddaughter Harper on Saturday afternoon to celebrate her 7th birthday. After that brief visit, we returned home to prepare for another big trip.

A number of our friends have turned 70 the last couple of years, and have celebrated in different ways: formal birthday dinners or parties, family cruises, drop-in parties, etc. Consequently, for a couple of years now, I’ve been contemplating how I wanted to celebrate. Here were the criteria: nothing formal, no substantial effort by Kay, include a “life list” item, and cause minimal impact and stress on others. As it turns out, it is going to be a month long celebration!

Up early, Kay was a bundle of energy getting the motorhome ready to travel northward. At 8 AM, she asked the folks next door to move their tow vehicle so we could exit, and we were on the road at 8:15 AM. The trip was uneventful, except that the chosen route, Arkansas Highway 9 north from Camden, was closed due to flooding of the Ouachita River. A detour required additional driving but we were in Hot Springs Village by about 4 PM, and dumped and unpacked by 5 PM. And then, it was good to be home.

We had nothing planned today. After a late start we drove a roundabout way to Abbeville for a last meal at Shucks. The meal consisted of shrimp salad and gumbo for Kay and fried oysters for me, topped off with a large serving of bread pudding. Interestingly, the bread pudding was very good, and the butter rum sauce tasted exactly like mine! Returning to the motorhome via rural roads, we witnessed one crawfish pond after another, and many were being harvested as we drove by.

The last night of the 2019 Cajun RV Rally featured crawfish and Zydeco music by Grammy Award winner Chubby Carrier. Zydeco is a music genre that evolved in southwest Louisiana by French Creole speakers which blends blues, rhythm and blues, and music indigenous to the Louisiana Creoles and Acadians. Though distinct in origin from the Cajun music of Louisiana, the two forms frequently influenced each other, forming a complex of genres native to Louisiana. Again, Kay and I danced the night away listening to the great music. HSV Roadrunners were well represented, and a great time was had by all.

We finally made it to the Boudin Festival in Scott, self-proclaimed “Boudin Capital of the World”. Boudin is a Southern Louisiana sausage-type delicacy comprised of ground pork, rice, onion, and Cajun spices and seasonings. It is served in a casing (my favorite, with mustard) or in deep-fried balls with a surprise center of melted cheese. Despite the mid-morning hour, the deep-fried Boudin balls tasted very good and were washed down with ice cold beer. With ominous clouds building in the southwest, we made a quick tour of the small festival grounds before driving Acadian country roads back to Rayne where we settled in for the afternoon.

It began raining mid-afternoon, and though there were short periods of letup, it continued raining throughout the night, often in deluges loud enough to wake us.

A chicken and sausage gumbo dinner was followed with music by Jo El Sonniet, a Cajun Music Hall of Fame, and Grammy Award winner (in camo). He and the band were awesome—he could make that accordion do things we thought impossible. Kay and I danced the night away, mostly country waltzes.