August 17, 2020

Bennett Creek Trail

Bennett Creek Camp Little Missouri National Grasslands, North Dakota

I fell asleep easily last night but woke up a a short while later, a little after ten.  I looked out the window and could see the stars were out.  As I was laying there, I saw a shooting star.  I put on my robe and slippers, gathered a pillow and blanket and I went outside.  I laid down on the picnic table and did some star gazing.  The dome of the night sky above me, the Milky Way, and zillions of stars above…I stayed there for 45 minutes just looking and considering my small place in this vast space…nighttime church!  I have seen stars in many parts of the country but the vastness here is awe inspiring.  I slept well after my foray into the darkness.

I took a short walk this morning to see if I could spot some prairie dogs.  They are speedy and hardly stand still enough for pictures!

We traveled deeper into the Grasslands to the Bennett Creek Camp.  It was a short distance to drive.

The scenery here is also spectacular.

We decided on a shorter hike today on the Bennett Trail.

It is more than 90 degrees and sunny and after about 30 minutes of walking, I felt like a baked potato and I was ready to turn around!  We turned on the generator and the air conditioning in the RV and just chilled for awhile this afternoon.  Sometimes, it is okay to take a break and just relax!

We took an afternoon ride to the ridge around the valley that we are camped in. It was 96 degrees and the air smelled like dust and heat.

Petrified tree trunk.

Evening walk.

We drove to the highest point, a grass butte, had some wine, and watched the sunset.

There is never a day that goes by that we are not immensely grateful that we have the opportunity to travel this way.

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!

August 15, 2020

Spacious Skies

White Buffalo RV Park Watford City, North Dakota

Happy happy birthday to our sweet Oliver!

I started the day with a morning walk and spotted this squirrel.  Squirrels here are almost black

Today we had the most beautiful ride of this trip.  We took the scenic road from Burlington to Watford City.  The pictures are pretty but they don’t do justice to the scenery.  Lots of ponds and farms and hay bales and lots of blue open sky. 

Breakfast spot near this wheat fields…with sunflowers…and yes he picked one for me!

We began to see oil rigs as we neared Watford.  We are in the middle of the Bakkin Oil Fields. 

We are staying at White Buffalo RV Park, a perfectly serviceable but unlovely campground.  We didn’t rest at all this afternoon because we were eager to go and see the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. 

The Little Missouri River cut through the sandy plains to create these Badlands.  We enjoyed the 14-mile scenic drive and got out of the Jeep several times to walk and take in the views.

Bison were reintroduced here in 1956.

After we left the park, we drove to the CCC Campground to scope out possibilities for tomorrow evening.  The campground is $5.00 a night for those with a senior pass and it overlooks the National Park.  We will move tomorrow morning.

We found a nice shady picnic spot for our dinner.

We went to get a few groceries and we did some laundry this evening in preparation for dry camping.

August 14, 2020

North Dakota

Old Settlers Park Burlington, North Dakota

Last night there was an extended period, more than one hour, of very intense lightning.  With great slashes of harsh, brilliant, barbed light.  Fortunately for us the severe storm (red on radar) was in a town, Erskine, to the east of us.  The flat landscape allowed us to see the weather happening far away. 

An early morning walk. 

The Carnegie Library in Crookston.

On the road.

Miles of sunflower fields today.

The soil is so black and rich looking.

We crossed the Red River into North Dakota and as we did so, great splats of rain began to fall.

This area is an agricultural area and the bigger towns sell all manner of farm equipment and tires.  There are lots of granaries as well.

We saw a flock of white pelicans.  They come to the interior portion of North American to breed and then they will overwinter in warmer climes, some as far away as South and Central America.

We passed the Geographical Center of North America today.  It is in the small town of Rugby, North Dakota.

We camped this evening at Old Settlers Park in Burlington, North Dakota.  It is a quiet, pleasant little park on a river.  We went for a good walk.

I was working on the blog outside under the tree when I heard thunder. Soon, the raindrops began to fall. Tim came out to help get chairs put away. We stood inside watching it rain, harder and harder still and then we heard the pelting of marble sized hail pummeling the RV. We were worried about the wind and hail and the slideout covers so we quickly pulled everything in. Just then, the sky brightened and the rain subsided. Very quickly, it was over. Luckily, there was no damage to the RV. The weather out here seems to be a little more dramatic than we are accustomed to!

August 13, 2020

Small Town USA

Crookston Central Park Campground Crookston, Minnesota

We were awake and, on the road, early this morning.  It was grey and gloomy with intermittent showers…not a bad day for driving.  We went south toward Duluth and then west on 2 across Minnesota.  Our route was dotted with small towns.

We stopped in Floodwood for a breakfast break.

We were just north of the origin or source of the Mississippi River, Lake Itasca.  The river runs from these headwaters 2,320 miles all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. 

There was nearly always railway along the road.  We passed cornfields and hayfields and fields of grain and sunflowers. 

We passed through Chippewa State Forest and passed several Chippewa Tribal Casinos as well.

At Cass Lake, we paused to rest, to walk, and to plan for the evening.

We stopped in Bemidji, once a prosperous logging town and home of Paul Bunyan and his Blue Ox, Babe.  The statues were built in 1937 and were designed to attract tourists to the area…and it works!  Paul and Babe are at home in a beautiful park, filled with people waiting to take pictures…sometimes…you just have to do the tourist stuff!

While we driving today we saw a pair of sandhill cranes, a pair of trumpeter swans, a bald eagle, a mother turkey and her clutch of little turkeys and then a large group of adult turkeys.

We decided to stay at the Crookston Central Park Campground. 

Crookston is a nice little place and we enjoyed a walk through the downtown area. 

We stumbled upon a farmers market.

We ordered carryout from El Gorditos and took it back to the RV.

August 12, 2020

Gitchi- Gami Trail

Penmarallter Campground two Harbors, Minnesota Day 3

The day began with great promise…another perfect weather day. We decided that we were going to hike the Gitchi-Gami Trail.

We parked at Twin Points. Our first observation was to notice how still and calm the lake was this morning…beautiful!

We began to hike the trai, walking down to the waters edge at Iona Beach.

The black flies were relentless. We stopped to spray and then we sprayed again. The flies were bothering Tim, but they were swarming me…lots and lots and lots of black flies…more than 100 biting flies…on my arms and legs and up under my hat. I am not quite sure why they loved me so much but I was unable to continue walking. Tim persevered…I went back to the car!

Tim walked to the Split Rock Lighthouse Overlook where I picked him up. We went back to the RV for lunch. We had kind of a lazy afternoon. I did go to do laundry and I grilled filet for dinner with mushroom and onions.

Gitchi-Gami is the native American name for Lake Superior. Longfellow and Gordon Lightfoot called it the big lake Gitche Gumee. The Edmund Fitzgerald sailed from Duluth on Lake Superior full of iron ore and headed for Cleveland when it sank in November of 1975.

Tomorrow we are going to head west toward North Dakota, leaving the land of lakes behind. We aren’t sure what sort of adventure we are going to find…but we are going to enjoy the ride!!!

August 11, 2020

North Shore Scenic Drove

Penmarallter Campground Two Harbors, Minnesota Day 2

We spent the day on North Shore Scenic Drive, Route 61, from Two Harbors to just shy of the Canadian Border. The road was built in 1924 just as more Americans could afford to buy cars. It was constructed to “provide outstanding views of Lake Superior.” We drove through small towns, into safe harbors, past waterfalls, over rivers, streams, and creeks. We got out at several places but we quickly discovered that the state parks were very crowded…it didn’t matter there were plenty of places to get out and enjoy the lake!

We grilled avocados and chicken and had it with Texas caviar and fresh ripe melon. Later in the evening we went for a ride to Knife River.

August 10, 2020

Penmarallter Campground Two Harbors, Minnesota

This morning we said goodbye to Ely. We really had a fun time there!

Even though it was a longer ride, we chose to take Scenic Route 1 through the Superior National Forest. It was a lovely road to travel on…lots of trees and LOTS of lakes! At the end of Route 1 we were treated to a glimpse of Lake Superior.

We took Route 61 toward Two Harbors through a couple of tunnels and along the shoreline of the lake.

We settled into the Penmarallter Campground and then in the later afternoon we went to the waterfront in Two Harbors. We started at the Ore Docks. Iron Ore is brought here to the lake in train cars. The taconite or iron ore is processed into pellets. These pellets are loaded onto ships…10,000,000 tons a year. These pellets are shipped to the lower great lakes where they are offloaded and made into steel. The pictures do not really show the enormity of this operation…it was really quite something to see!

This is one of the first pieces of iron ore mined in Minnesota. It weighs 700 pounds and is 70% iron ore.

This tugboat, the Edna G., was put into service beginning in 1896. She was retired in 1961 and is still fully operational.

We looked at the outdoor exhibits for the Duluth and Iron Range Depot.

We walked along the shore of Agate Bay.

And then out onto the jetty which serves as a navigational aid.

And around the point.

We ruffled a few feathers as we walked by mama duck and her ducklings.

The Two Harbors Light Station was built in 1892 after several ore boats ran aground or wrecked on the rocky coast. This is Minnesota’s oldest continuously operating lighthouse on Lake Superior.

McQuades Pub and Grill was just around the corner and so we stopped and ordered some dinner…mussels and salmon Caesar salads…a really delicious meal!

August 9, 2020

The Rest of Echo Trail

Silver Rapids Lodge Day 8

The sprinkles turned into light rain, turned into steady rain, turned into a downpour complete with thunder and lightning as we made our way deeper into Superior National Forest.  We wanted to see the rest of Echo Trail.  We didn’t stop too much because of the weather. 

Each time the rain would begin to taper off, we started looking for a picnic spot and then it would rain again in earnest.  We made it to the end of Echo Trail.  There is a campground and picnic area there and we were hopeful that we might find shelter for lunch.  Echo Lake was closed because of COVID.  We decided to make it work!  Tim used bungee cords to fasten a tarp to the roof rack and the closed gate…we had our lettuce wraps and veggies in our own little cocoon…mostly dry!

We took the long way through the forest back to Ely. Our trip today took more than 6 ½ hours!   We have enjoyed being here.  We seldom camp in one place for so long but it really does allow us to get a good feel for an area.  Ely is a safe, friendly, and great little town.  We decided not to go to the International Wolf Center or the National Bear Center or the old State Theater…we are really trying to avoid crowds and take the fewest risks possible…but we did a lot of Jeeping, and hiking, and little league and, walking through town.  There is so much to see that we will never see it all!

We got a few supplies in town and then ordered curbside takeout from the Steak House again. 

August 8, 2020

Miners Lake

Silver Rapids Lodge Day 7

We had rain on the roof for most of the night with great jagged flashes of lightening across the lake and booming thunder.  By morning we had few clouds and some sprinkles and then brilliant blue sky.

We went to Miners Lake and walked the four-mile loop.  There are vestiges of old mines along the trail and some glimpses of lake.  It was a nice morning for a hike.

We napped this afternoon and then went for a Jeep ride through the woods and past White iron Lake.

Evening time was spent eating a picnic dinner at our campsite and sitting by the water. We are so blessed.