Makoshika State Park – Badlands, Bridges, and Hoodoos!

Near sunset at Makoshika State Park.

On Wednesday, 7/29, we moved to Riverview RV Park in Glendive, MT for two nights. Again, we had to cancel our state park reservation because it was dry camping and our streak of 100+ degrees has continued. Ugh. The drive was an adventure all its own. As is often the case, extreme heat can birth some monster storms. We had to drive straight through a severe storm with thunder, lightning, heavy rain, and strong winds that were pushing the coach all over the place. Both Rog and Bob considered pulling over, but it was a big system and they opted to soldier through rather than try to wait it out. It was a white-knuckled ride for sure.

Yeah, isolated showers was a bit of an understatement. Lol.

Riverview was fine, it had some shade trees and most importantly power, but wasn’t anything to write home about. But it was only a mile from Makoshika State Park and that’s what we’re really here to see. At over 11,500 acres, Makoshika is Montana’s largest state park preserving over 20% of the state’s badlands. The land was set aside as a state park in 1953 and is a world-renowned place to study paleontology, geology, and archaeology. Makoshika’s badlands expose 65-million-year old clay and shale from a time when these dry lands were a tropical paradise where dinosaurs roamed. Over ten species of dinosaurs have been found in Makoshika including T-Rex and Triceratops.

Dinosaur bones and fossils are often found in the area.

The dinosaurs are cool, but I was more interested in the amazing landscape. I just love the multi-colored layers of the badlands, hoodoos, and ravines. The lower sedimentary layers erode much faster than the sandstone above, leaving caprocks precariously balanced on delicate spires. With their other-worldly formations, whole valleys look like they were lifted from a science fiction movie. We did the scenic drive through the park at sunset on Wednesday evening stopping at several overlooks. There are lots of trails throughout the park, so I was also scouting out where I wanted to hike.

The colors are caused by the mineral composition of the layers,
iron is red and yellow while coal seams are black.

I love the capstones and bizarre erosion patterns.

View from Capstone trailhead. Yes, I'll be back!

Always fun to make new friends.

Dramatic sky.

While the storms have reduced the temps, it’s still waaaaay too hot to be out and about midday. My furry alarm clock (thank you, Raney) nudged me at 5:59am on Thursday morning. Instead of pleading for just a few more minutes, I dragged myself out of bed so we could get an early start on the trail. I’d picked two short ones, Caprock Trail which included the Natural Bridge and the more difficult, but also short, Kinney Coulee trail. I would be hard pressed to pick a favorite! Caprock was a half-mile loop, but there was so much to see that it sure felt longer. I may go a little crazy with pictures, so scroll through quickly if you’re not a big a fan of badlands topography. Lol.

We descend into a wonderland on this rickety staircase.

The trail winds through a maze
of hoodoos and intriguing formations.

Badlands Bunny. Lol.

One advantage of hiking down into the valley, you can focus on the details.

One of the highlights of this trail was a natural bridge. Do you see it on the right?

Photo op on the bridge!

Orange and black stripes.

Climbing up out of the valley.

One last look back at the playground.

The Kinney Coulee trail was about a mile long and listed as one of the more difficult hikes. It also packed a lot into a relatively short distance, and included a little more climbing on, shall we say, less than well-developed trails. It was all great fun and we managed to beat the rain, which was a good thing. Both of the trails had signs posted that they are impassible when wet because of the bentonite mud, which they called “gumbo”. Lol.

And down we go for our second mini-hike this morning.

Giant rock snake?

Caprock and mud slumps.

Mud ghosts and a balancing act. Lol.

Aren't the textures and patterns fascinating?

Rog hikes past a huge spire. 

Through the gate. Lol.

We managed to avoid the gumbo. Lol. 

We finished our hike and were on our way back to the RV, when we saw Bob and Carole’s car at the Visitor’s Center. We stopped and I was going to do the one-mile Bluebird Loop trail with them, but it had started to rain. We ended up coming back around noon, it was still spitting rain but, honestly after all the heat, a breeze and little bit of rain felt like heaven. Lol.

A greener vista from the Bluebird Trail...

...but still plenty of badlands beauty.

We had several one-night stops next on our schedule. The first was the Wagon Wheel Campground in Forsyth, MT on Friday, 7/31 (Happy Birthday Tim and Diane!). We found out that the area is known for moss agates, so Carole and I waded into the Yellowstone River in search. Let me just say it was not nearly as pleasant as rockhounding on the Great Lakes! The river was slow moving with lots of algae and a bit smelly too. Lol. On the upside, I do believe Carole found a moss agate and we both came back with more rocks to add to the “to be tumbled” pile. 😊 

Yellowstone River.

The search is on!

From there, we made our way to Billings Village RV Park in (you guessed it) Billings, MT on Saturday, 8/1. Rog finally was able to get his hair cut, he’s been trying for weeks and it got to be a running joke because all the places he tried were either booked or closed. He was nearly resigned to having Covid hair until we got home. Lol. We also visited Big Dipper Ice Cream, which turned out to be a real find. The website said they had flights, one of my favorite things. But when I asked the girl at the counter, she gave me a totally blank look. She had no idea what I was talking about or even what a “flight” was. She asked her coworker who told her it was six scoops. I told her what flavors I wanted to try and she started dishing up full size scoops! Even my eyes got big. After a couple, her coworker looked over and whispered, “kid sized scoops!”. Lol. She finished up the order with smaller scoops, but even so it was an impressive amount of ice cream. Have no fear, I was up to the challenge.

Big Dipper lived up to its name.
(And no, there is no such thing as too much ice cream! Lol.)

Our final one-night stay on Sunday, 8/2, was a Harvest Host site, Bridger Brewing in Three Forks, MT. By now the temps had dropped into the 90’s, so we decided to forgo the power pole and keep our reservation at the brewery. They had several areas for RV parking and we chose a spot next to a big open field where the pups could have some play time. 

Bridger Brewing, another excellent Harvest Host site.

Rog is outstanding in his field. Lol.

The pups loved some leash-free play time.

As Rog observed, every mile we drive is one closer to home now. But keep hanging with us, we still have some fun activities planned including an epic bike ride on the Hiawatha Trail coming up next!

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!