Yesterday, Paul and I left North Dakota
and began our trek toward California.
We went from Linton to Billings,
Montana. Some family friends from
my dad’s time at Seminary graciously offered to give us a place to stay. We set out early, since we had some business to take care of in Bismark, and we weren't sure how long that would take. As it turned out, it took hardly any time at all. (A modern day miracle in my opinion, since we were working with the DMV. Well, either a miracle or North Dakota is just way more awesome than Mississippi.) ;-)
We got out of Bismark so early, in fact, that we were on track to arrive several hours early. Too early, the Wendts weren't even going to be home when we arrived. And so, when our route took us through the beautiful North Dakota Badlands, we decided to make an adventure of it.
The Badlands are a beautiful range of buttes that have been eroded away to reveal their stunning layers of color. The park provides a ruggedly beautiful terrain for campers, hikers, and anyone who has an appreciation for the beauty of nature.
With several hours to kill, Paul and I decided to check it out. We took a beautiful, scenic drive through a section of the park, stopping often to admire our surroundings. We found a nice hiking trail that lead to a clif overlooking a huge river valley. I loved the smell of the fresh, untainted air, the brush of soft sage on my skin, the stony path, and the geological wonders all around me. We saw hosts of prairie dogs and herds of Bison, and I knew I wasn't in Mississippi anymore.
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| Bison |
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| Antelope? Less sure on this one... |
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| What a view! |
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| Cool geological formations :-) |
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| Our winding windy trail |
After our hike, we drove into Medora, a small town on the Badlands outskirts. We had a realxed lunch at a cozy little cafe, and chatted over pie and coffee. After all that, our time was sufficiently slaughtered. We arrived at the Wendt's house a little later than we had planned, but one experience richer on our journey West.
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