August 16, 2017
LITTLE MISSOURI NATIONAL GRASSLAND (Summit C/G): Theodore Roosevelt, He's My Friend
Theodore Roosevelt is not literally my friend, of course. I mean, he died somewhere around a hundred years ago. Nevertheless, I think of him as a friend because he established our National Forest Service, which oversees the National Grasslands. Way to go, buddy! And he loved the Great Plains so much that he built a ranch out here in North Dakota's badlands, and now one of America's most ignored national parks is named after him. I'd have to say Teddy is more than just my friend, I think he may also be my favorite Republican president of all time.
I expected today to be one of the highlights of my entire trip--thanks to my planned visit to the Theodore Roosevelt's National Park and one of his National Grasslands--and I was not disappointed. The day was SO exceptional that I feel like I could write a Ken Burns-like documentary about it. But, for the purposes of this journal, I'm going to edit myself down to just a few hundred words and a whole bunch of pictures. Since you readers have committed yourselves to read every word I write, the least I can do is keep the pages reasonably short.
I broke camp at my typically early time of 9:30. Highway 85 South of Watford City was a little quieter, two lanes narrower, and smaller shouldered than the Highway 85 was yesterday, but still enjoyable.
My first stop was on a gravel side road where my need to use the great restroom outdoors had reached nearly emergency status. A big hawk was eyeing me from a telephone pole above and it let out two calls of "CHREEEEEeeeeeeee" in the space of time it took me to pee. Before I could zip up and grab my phone for a picture, it took flight.
I was back on the road for less than a minute when I saw a hawk swoop down into some tall grass. A few seconds later it flew out of the grass with a small rodent in its talons. I'd like to think it was the same hawk that was talking to me and that my presence helped him to spot that tasty treat.
I will now bypass my description of how the road has been a continuous succession of long, low-grade ascents and long, low-grade descents over the last couple of days, and move on to President Theodore Roosevelt's namesake park.
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I was hesitant to pay the $12 fee for an "individual pass" to enter the park. "Individual," in national-park-speak, apparently means "hikers and bikers." An individual in a car pays $20. So do four individuals in a car. This is just one man's opinion, and an admittedly biased one, but I think an individual on a bike should be charged quite a bit less than 60% of a carload of individuals.
I didn't even get any kind of Mr. Nice Guy discount. Even so, I considered my time in the North Unit of Ted's park to be $12 well spent. I rode five miles on the aptly-named "Scenic Road" and it was awesome! I'll let the pictures do the talking for a while.
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I filled my water bottles in a restroom at the picnic area, despite a warning that the water might not be completely safe for young children. The sign said something about a few parts per million of bacteria that exceeded government regulations. As a backpacking type guy who has occasionally drank water directly from rivers and lakes (only once with adverse effects) I wasn't too worried.
Then I started riding back out of the park the same way I came in and soon came upon a major roadblock.
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I stopped at what I thought was a safe distance, and waited and waited and waited. They refused to move. I was sweating under the hot sun but the bison didn't care about that. Eventually a car came up behind me as the huge animals moved off of our lane. The car inched its way forward and I decided to inch my way forward on the right side of the car to shield me from getting gored to death. My strategy worked and I'm alive to tell you about it.
Once out of my friend's park, I came upon a crossing of the sickly Little Missouri River and a three-mile climb out of the valley and into the Little Missouri National Grasslands. I explored a couple of gravel roads in search of a campsite.
Okay, you only have to read one more paragraph today. Here it comes:
The Maah Daah Hey Trail is considered a premier mountain bike trail and I have wanted to ride it for a long time. I actually believed I could take my touring bike for a ride on the rugged trail today. I thought I would remove my gear, lower the pressure in my tires, and take it very slowly. I took one look at the trail, however, and I knew immediately there was no way that could happen. So I took a hike on the trail instead.
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Today's ride: 36 miles (58 km)
Total: 105 miles (169 km)
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