August 16, 2020
Maah Daah Hey Trail
CCC Campground Little Missouri National Grasslands, North Dakota
We moved from Watford City to the CCC Campground in the Little Missouri National Grasslands. These grasslands are the largest in the United States. We received a warm welcome!
Our view is phenomenal.
The trailhead for the Maah Daah Hey Trail is here. Maah Daah Hey is native American and translated it means “grandfather, long-lasting.” But its true meaning refers to something that will be around for a long time that deserves care and respect. The trail symbol is the turtle and denotes fortitude, determination, and patience. The trail is 145 miles long. We decided to hike a portion of it today. There were lots of hills and a couple of small stream crossings but it wasn’t a difficult walk. The trail crosses through the rugged and beautiful Badlands and for us…this was Sunday morning church!
We rested and ate lunch. Then, we headed out to explore a couple of the nearby forest service roads.
We took our dinner across the bridge to the national park. We drove the scenic highway first.
This bison was right next to the road. He was enormous!
We ate our cold chicken dinner beneath the cottonwood trees…lovely!
