State #12 North Dakota

After our late evening, it took us a little bit to get going but we finally made it to North Dakota.

We got behind a military convoy. We are so thankful for the men and women who serve our country! They can take up all the road they need; you will hear no complaints from us. Just kidding, they were in the process of passing us when I snapped the picture.

The first thing we noticed as we crossed the state line was that it immediately went from cattle ranches back to farms; back to corn, wheat, and soybean.

We stopped in Bowman and Grazers Burgers was the highest rated place in the small town. So burgers it was. When I saw that the Green Cow was a North Dakota “tradition” on the menu, I knew what I had to order. It was good, if you like green olives, and I do.

The wheat fields went on and on. I’m not sure if this is amber waves of grain or not but it was pretty. And yes, if you follow us on Instagram, this is where the boys and I trespassed to get closer to the wheat. Those of you who know me, know I’m a rule follower. So this was very hard for me but I couldn’t help but get a closer picture. Not trying to downplay my lawbreaking….but….there was a road between the two fields, we stayed on the road, we never got in the field, we didn’t damage even one piece of grain, and we were in and out in a flash. If you are the owner of this field in North Dakota, I would like to sincerely apologize for blatantly ignoring your no trespassing sign and for being a poor example for my children. You’re fields are beautiful. Keep up the good hard work. Ok, now that I have that off my chest. I feel so much better.

Tucker called them the bread fields. All he could think about was eating some bread. What can I say, boy takes after his momma when it comes to a love affair with carbs.

It’s hard to tell in this picture but you are looking at acres of beautiful sunflower fields.

And there it is, the sign for our destination; Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Since Roosevelt was the first conservationist president, the National Park Service has tried to keep this land untouched as much as possible for a national park.

Roosevelt, whose first wife died during childbirth and his mother died from typhoid on the same day in the same house, came to this area to mourn and heal. He said this land had a desolate beauty. I would wholeheartedly agreed with that sentiment.

I forgot to mentioned, before we turned into the park we saw “Roosevelt” speaking in town.

Now, back to the park. Mason is touching bison hair in the Visitor Center museum.

Of course, we came across a herd of buffalo and this guy was HUGE. The pictures are frustrating me. You just can’t tell the scale in them. I’m sorry I’m not a photographer. I wish you could just be here and see and smell and hear.

We hiked the Wind Canyon trail. The ground is so soft that wind is the big cause of erosion as opposed to water. The ground was like sand. The boys loves that they could pick up a “rock” and crush it with there bare hands. They felt like superheroes.

Sometimes it’s the little things that bring so much joy.

Wild horses just standing out on this rock like they were posing.

Then pronghorns…they’re hard to see because they blend into the rocks but it’s a male lying down and the female is standing up. You can see his horns better in the second picture. It’s almost like a Where’s Waldo picture.

So long park.

A couple things you should know about driving in these parts are – 1) make sure you potty before you leave wherever you are and 2) make sure your tank is full. The interstate is full of long stretches of just fields and then when you happen upon an exit, you see this…

Sometimes it says no facilities; sometimes it says no services. That means no gas, no bathrooms, in case you weren’t sure.

Then there are times when you see a huge cow from the highway and you think you’re eyes are deceiving you.

But no, it’s true. It was a giant cow. Hehe!

At the rest area close to the state line, I found this plaque stating that this area is the largest producer of water fowl in the continental US. There you go, I just educated you. You are welcome. Well, at least I think that what the sign said as best I could remember. You might want to blow it up and read it for yourself.