Theodore Roosevelt National Park and Fabulous Presidential Library.

A smoky sunrise and the biggest bison statue in the world.

Although we’re headed to Theodore Roosevelt National Park, we’ve got some distance to cover to get there. Our first stop, on Thursday, 7/23, was a Harvest Host in Bagley, MN. Honeyberry Farm boasts a huge antique tractor collection and (in season) a variety of U-pick berries. The namesake honeyberries weren’t available, but our host graciously offered to make fresh baked cobbler with frozen berries. Of course, we said yes!! We also picked up a couple jars of jam and syrup. Sweet! Oh, and if, like me, you’ve never heard of Honeyberries, the shrub is a member of the honeysuckle family. They typically grow from 3 – 8 feet tall, with oblong berries ½ – 1 inch or more in length, depending on the cultivar. The berries are blue in color with a tart flavor described as a mixture of blackberry, cherry and even grape or kiwi. All I can say is they make a delicious cobbler and jam!

Honeyberry Farm, another fun Harvest Host stop.

There were scores of antique tractors on the property.

The best part of Honeyberry farm was the honeyberries!

From Honeyberries to Bison. Harvest Host sites certainly offer variety! On Friday, 7/24, we rolled into the North American Bison Discovery Center in Jamestown, ND. Unfortunately, we were in the warning box for severe thunderstorms. While Carole and I visited the Bison museum, the guys took care of the rigs. After the threat had passed (just rain, no hail-Yay!), we walked to the nearby Frontier Village to see the largest bison statue in the world! A roadside attraction that they say draws 100,000 visitors annually. The 60 ton concrete giant built in 1959 and dubbed Dakota Thunder, is 26' tall, 14' wide and 46' long. He even makes Riley and Raney look tiny! Lol. 

The North American Bison Discovery Center in Jamestown, ND.

The museum had lots of interesting Bison exhibits, and...

...the real thing in the surrounding fields.

The adjacent Frontier Village was interesting to walk through.

But, the real attraction was the largest bison statue in the world.

And here is where all our careful planning fell apart. More record-setting heat had us cancelling and rescheduling our next four stops. I’m not gonna lie, it really chapped my hide. We spend so much time and energy choosing the sites, making the reservations, and scheduling activities that by the time our itinerary is set, I am emotionally invested and get really cranky when I have to change everything. Lol.  That said, I completely understand that there’s no way we can keep the coaches cool enough for the pups without power. So change we did.

Yes, it was HOT! 
This was in the sun, but we officially hit 107°!

Arrrgh, this is what my neatly made plans look like now. Lol. 

We compromised on our next stop. Instead of dry-camping at another Harvest Host site, Phat Fish Brewery, we got reservations for North Park Campground in Dickinson, ND for Saturday, 7/25. Then we drove over to Phat Fish for a bite and brew anyway.

Phat Fish brewery was a fun place.

Our original plan had been to either dry-camp at Cottonwood Campground in Theodore Roosevelt National Park (TRNP) or find a boondocking spot in the nearby Buffalo Gap Grasslands. Instead, we opted for a spot with power at the Buffalo Gap Guest Ranch and RV Campground near Medora, ND. We drove over a mile down a dirt road on Sunday, 7/26, to find a funky, fun little resort that had a campground with hookups. We used it as our base to visit TRNP and the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library which just opened July 4th.

This is as close to boondocking with a power pole as you can get. Lol. 

 

The resort bar/restaurant was a hoot. 

Lots of kitsch and taxidermy. Lol.

TRNP is divided into two main units, North and South, that are 68 miles apart. There is a third unit, Elkhorn Ranch, which was the site of Roosevelt’s ranch built in 1884. The buildings no longer stand, but the foundations are still visible. We only had time to visit the South Unit and stopped at the Painted Canyon Visitor Center on Sunday, 7/26. 

View from Painted Canyon Visitor's Center.

Later that evening, we drove the 36-mile scenic loop through the National Park. We stopped at several incredible overlooks and saw deer, a few solitary bison, vast communities of entertaining prairie dogs, and a whole herd of about 20 wild horses. Then we climbed Buck Hill to watch the sunset.

Skyline Vista.

Prairie and Badlands.

Evening is a great time to spot wildlife.

Part of the herd sauntering up to the overview. 

A straggler in the evening light.

Perched on the rocks at Buck Hill waiting for the sunset.

Worth the wait. 

We weren’t sure what to expect at the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, but it was amazing! If you get an opportunity to visit, do it! The building is pretty special in its own right with a prairie grass roof, extensive use of natural materials and timbers, and compressed earth walls.

The building design is unconventional...

...as are the materials, this is a compressed earth wall.

I loved all the timbers and natural materials.

You can even go topside and walk on the roof planted with prairie grasses.

The exhibits detail TR’s life (Fun Fact: He never liked being called Teddy, family and friends referred to him as TR.) using an excellent mix of multimedia, static exhibits, and AI generated interactive displays. It’s not just fun for the kids, all the adults got on board too. The library covers TR’s early life and family, time spent on the frontier and living in North Dakota, the Rough Riders, his rise to power and presidency, his conservation legacy, and post-presidency highlights including the Bull Moose campaign, and trips to Africa and the River of Doubt in Brazil (which almost killed him). TR protected roughly 230 million acres through proclamations, executive orders, and legislation. One of his greatest achievements was the Antiquities Act, signed into law in 1906, which granted the President authority to set aside public lands as "national monuments" without requiring Congressional approval. TR established 18 national monuments, protecting sites of scientific, historical, and scenic significance.

The library is a unique mix of static displays...

...recreations of places TR lived, and...

...multimedia displays. This one told stories of his time in the Badlands, while...

...we joined his expedition down the River of Doubt in this display.

There were fun interactive displays for both the kids and the adults.

We learned so much, especially about his life after the presidency.

When you first enter the library, you can enter your email address at a kiosk and have your picture taken. You are given a token that activates various displays, some “photoshop” you into various pictures representing key moments in TR’s life. They even email you the photos! Sadly, Carole thinks she may have incorrectly entered her email because she never got her pics. What a bummer! We spent over three hours at the library and found it incredibly interesting, informative, and entertaining. It really is not to be missed!

Rog in the Navy and on the frontier.

Bob in 1800's New York and in the Badlands.

Momma on a sailing ship and assisting with TR's Africa expedition.

On Tuesday, we went to see the Medora Musical. Rog and I had attended ten years ago and I’d sworn wild horses couldn’t drag me back. But Bob and Carole had never been, and we decided to see how much had changed in a decade. The singing and dancing was top notch, and the props and sets had certainly improved. The earlier show was basically an advertisement for the town, and while there was still a lot of self-promotion, there was a much greater focus on Theodore Roosevelt and celebrating the nation’s 250th anniversary. Bob and Carole enjoyed it, and it wasn’t nearly as painful as I thought it might be. Lol.

The view from the amphitheater is absolutely stunning!

The performers were very talented and the horses were a fun addition.

The musical had less corn pone and more patriotism.

The show has been revamped to celebrate TR and...

...our country's 250th anniversary.

But there is still plenty of merchandising! Lol.
(And no, Medora Music-ale did not come home with us.)

Next up is a Montana State Park that is otherworldly. I think you’re going to love it, I sure did!

Voyageurs National Park by Houseboat? Yes We Did!

A new adventure! Voyageurs National Park by houseboat.

We had just one more stop on the shores of Lake Superior. Little Girl’s Point is known as a great place to hunt for agates and Carole and I were thrilled. We arrived on Friday, 7/17, (Happy Birthday, Randi!!) and Carole and I made a beeline for the beach as soon as we were set up. The water was so clear and the rocks were so colorful – we had a total blast. You really didn’t need to walk the beach, although I did, you could just sit and sift through the rocks within reach and find wonderful treasures. I certainly added a few pounds to my Lake Superior stash. Did we find agates? Honestly, I don’t know. But I have over 20 pounds of Lake Superior stones and I bet there are some in there. Lol.

We were perched on a bluff overlooking Lake Superior.

The water, the rocks, the weather - everything was perfect!

Carole and I had so much fun rockhounding along the shore.

Evening light was lovely.

Here's a quick peek at my box of Lake Superior rocks.
(Hunches over box protectively, "My preciousss!")

On Saturday, 7/18, we moved to Indian Point Campground for one night. The whole reason we picked this place is because it was close to Wild State Cider. Bob and Carole (and me too!) are cider fans, while Rog is a die-hard craft beer guy. We visited Wild State and enjoyed sampling several of the ciders. Then Rog said he wanted to pop into Ursa Minor Brewery just down the street. He really liked one of their brews and wanted to pick some up to go. We walked in and they had a sour called Agate Hunter, with boysenberry, cherry, and vanilla. Was this not made for me? I got a sample and was in love. Then we saw that they had the Agate Hunter as a slushie! Carole and I turned puppy dog eyes on the boys and they caved, waiting patiently while we listened to the live band and enjoyed our slushies. And yes, a 4-pack came home with me, just wishing I’d have picked up two. Lol.

Wild State was fun, but I have a new favorite Sour!

Try pronouncing this one!
A park was just down the street from our campground. 

Indian Point Campground turned out to be perfect for another reason, it was just 10 minutes from Costco and a grocery store, and we needed to stock up for our next stop. Yep, we had a super exciting mini adventure planned! We rented a houseboat with Bob and Carole for four nights to tour Voyageurs National Park!

About 40% of Voyageurs National Park is water, approximately 84,000 acres are covered by its four major lakes—Rainy, Kabetogama, Namakan, and Sand Point along with dozens of smaller interior lakes. This is our final national park in the continental US. Hurray! Don’t worry, we’re not done yet. We still have 12 parks to go, but we’ll need to travel to Alaska, Hawaii, the US Virgin Islands and Samoa. Of those, the options are limited for the Short Bus. Lol. (Although Alaska by RV is a bucket list trip.)

Voyageurs 84,000 acres of water contains over 500 islands!

We had chosen Ebel’s Voyageur Houseboats in Ash River, MN. Before arriving on Sunday, 7/19, we stopped at the nearby Voyageurs National Park Ash River Visitor’s Center. The check in time for Ebel’s was 1pm and the office does not open a minute early. Lol. In all fairness, they have boats coming in that need to be unloaded, cleaned, and prepped for departure. Check in for houseboats is 9am, so to have them ready to go at 1pm, it’s a pretty quick turnaround. We pulled up in our rigs a little before 1pm and waited in line to complete the rental paperwork.

Ash River is one of three Visitor Centers in Voyageurs.

Ebel's Voyageur Houseboats. Highly recommended!

We’re in a 50ft houseboat that sleeps 8. It has a full kitchen, bathroom, two bedrooms (plus additional bunks), a common area with a dining table, small couch, and the captain’s controls. Plus a large screen room on the front and smaller back patio with a Weber grill and a ladder to the top deck with a second set of controls to drive the boat and a *drumroll* slide! It’s like a large floating RV, so we should feel right at home. Unfortunately, our boat (#15) was still being cleaned, so we got a little bit of a late start. After we got everything loaded (and could someone please explain why we need ten tons of stuff for four days, lol) one of the Ebel’s staff did a walk through and quick tutorial on how to manage the boat systems, drive the boat, and navigate using the electronics and paper maps.

Our happy home for the next four days.

A floating RV! Lol.

The staff drove the houseboat down the Ash River to Kabetogama Lake in the park before getting picked up in a skiff. He stayed with us for about a half hour until he was confident we, and by that I mean Bob, had a handle on all the operations. Bob has had a boat of one kind or another since he was 19, so he was drafted as Captain and Rog was designated First Mate. As we navigated from Kabetogama Lake to Namakan Lake, we quickly learned Voyageurs is a veritable maze of waterways and islands. We had an electronic navigation system (Garmin Navionics) and two sets of maps and it was still a challenge!

We waved good-bye to the Short Bus as we left the dock.

Motoring down Ash River to Kabetogama Lake.

Captain Bob takes the wheel!

The temps on Sunday were in the mid 90’s and it was a slow, hot crawl as we learned the quirks of the boat and how to navigate. The boys dubbed it the Garbage Scow because it was so slow and cumbersome. Navigation was tricky, going upstream, stay to the left-hand side of the red buoys and to right-hand side of the green buoys. Going downstream, it’s the opposite. The electronic navigation system does not have a depth finder so you can’t actually rely on it. Use the maps! Easier said than done. Arrrrgh!

There are developed sites that are designated for houseboats that are signed and have a firepit and tie outs for the boat, as well as undeveloped sites that are considered safe, but unsigned and have no amenities. It’s all first come/first served, so given our late start the sites closer to Ebel’s were occupied and we had to go a little further on launch day than we wanted. It was hot and the pups were ready for a break before we finally found an open spot. It turned out great however, because we got a fabulous site, Wigwam Island East, in a sheltered cove with a sandy beach for the dogs. The water is stained by tannins, making it a light brown color, a nearby waterfall is even named Rootbeer Falls. Lol.

We are safely moored at our first site!

It doesn't get much better than this!

What a peaceful, lovely evening.

Yeah, I could get used to this. Lol.

Sunset our first night on the boat.

Speaking of the dogs, getting them on/off the houseboat was one of the things I was most worried about. I know how cautious, spooky, and stubborn they can be. If my big chickens decide it’s too scary, they will dig in their heels, and I can’t just pick them up and carry them onboard. Lol. And true to form, Raney balked. When we were loading, the houseboat was pulled up to the dock and there was a step down to the metal mesh catwalk on the back of the boat. She just couldn’t bring herself to do it. We finally pulled their ramp out of the pupwagon, put that down and she pranced right on board. Lol. Riley also had no trouble once the ramp was in place. Once we were moored, there was a wooden ramp that pulled out and it took a little while, but they both finally decided it wouldn’t kill them to use it.

Ruby had no problems, the big kids needed a little coaxing. Lol.

It’s a good thing we loved our first mooring site, because we ended up staying there two nights. The weather turned and we had thunderstorms, high winds and rough water. A motorized tow-behind is required by the Coast Guard, so we had a 14-foot aluminum skiff with an outboard. Rog and Bob took the small boat out on Monday, 7/20, with the intention of scouting our next site and doing some fishing. Once they got out of the sheltered cove and hit open water the wind and waves made for a very wild ride. They checked out a few potential spots, but when they turned around against the wind things got really interesting. The waves were two feet high and they took a beating. Thoughts of fishing abandoned, they made it back to the houseboat where they tightened up the mooring lines and decided we’d be staying put for a second night.

The boys are off to scout our next moorage.
They had more of an adventure than they expected.

We were happy to stay and explore.

We didn’t get much sleep on our first night on the houseboat. It was still hot and we had all the windows open. Even with screens the mosquitos came in droves and nearly ate us alive. Raney also decided to join Rog and I in bed, something she never does at home. Can we just say that girlfriend is a world-class bed hog. Lol. Neither Rog nor I got much sleep, so we made adjustments the second night – no pups on the bed and run the Thermacells before bedtime to combat the mosquitos! However, our second night wasn’t much better with thunder, lightning, rain and howling winds rocking the houseboat. We also had some unhappy pups, especially Raney who demanded pets for several hours. Rog and I tag teamed her so we each got a little sleep. So much for no dogs in the bed, we were happy to have her snuggle in the morning if it meant a few more minutes of shut eye. Lol.

Let's just call it cozy. Lol. 

The temps had also dropped dramatically, and we went from shorts and tanks to long pants and fleece. The pups were still happy to play on the beach and get in the water, but we preferred to stay warm and dry. 

Ruby having a blast on the beach.

Riley was the boat inspector. Lol.

Time to break out the fleece

The waves had swamped the small skiff during the night and the guys had to bail it out in the morning. Finally, around lunchtime on Tuesday, 7/21, Rog and Bob took the small boat out again, it was still too windy to fish, but they did find another likely spot for the houseboat. We motored over and got set up in another lovely spot, McManus Island West. The dogs loved having a new beach and trails to explore.

The waves half filled the small boat. 

Before we could leave, we had to convince these three to get back onboard. Lol.

On the way to our next spot. Voyageurs is just stunning. 

Rog took the small boat in first and prepared to catch the mooring lines.

We are secured and ready to explore!

Our site on McManus Island is pup-approved. Lol. 

Another glorious sunset.

Our last full day on the houseboat was Wednesday, 7/22, and the weather gods finally smiled on us. We had blue skies and it was warm without being oppressively hot. Yay!! Rog and Bob finally got a chance to fish. Riley was very interested in the small boat but was not invited to join them. Lol. He followed them as far as he could go, and as they motored away, the look of concerned abandonment on his face was priceless.

But Daaaad, I wanna go too!

Let the fun begin!

Rog was hoping for a pike or walleye, but caught a small mouth bass and then realized neither one of them had a phone, so no pictures. They came back to the houseboat, grabbed their phones and headed out again. This time Rog got his pike! Bob hadn’t had any luck, so they went out again in the evening. Neither of them had any bites and they were reeling in their lines to call it day when Bob realized he had this monster on his line. 😊

Rog got his pike! Yay!

And here's Bob's big one! 😄

While the boys were fishing, Carole and I enjoyed a relaxing beach day. I took Raney on a short hike, but the trails quickly ended and we weren’t up for bushwacking very far through the wilderness.

Raney's Pride Rock moment. Lol.

 

Our happy home viewed from the trail.

What a beautiful day to be on the lake. 

We opted to stay a second night at McManus Island. We were about 2 ½ hours from Ebel’s and we were supposed to have the boat back at the dock by 9am. We thought about moving closer, but decided to just get up early in the morning for our return trip. We had one last fun activity. We really needed to try out that waterslide and we finally had a decent day to do it. Rog, Bob, and I all gave it try, some of us multiple times. Lol. Carole chose to be the cheering section and help document our derring-do.

Rog was the first to go...

 

...followed by Bob.

I want points for form. Lol.

Bob and Rog navigated back to Ebel’s and we pulled in at 9:01am, how’s that for perfect timing! Carole and I had everything prepped for departure and the staff helped unload. They were washing down the boat and getting it ready for the next guests before we were off the dock. Lol. We had a fantastic time. Had the weather been a bit more cooperative, we could have stayed at three or four different islands, but as it was, we had a wonderful time and I’d certainly do it again. Maybe schedule a whole week next time!

Rog takes the helm in the early morning light.

Carole has their undivided attention. Check out that laser focus. Lol.

Motoring back to Ash River.

Docked and unloading.

A successful trip and we're off to our next adventure!

We had a wonderful time and were sad to end our houseboat adventure, but we have more fun stuff on the horizon. Bob and Carole had never been to Theodore Rooseveldt National Park, so guess where we headed next. 😊