Day Ten - Bismarck ND to Coon Rapids MN

Wednesday began as a leisurely morning with lots of coffee for Victoria, a hearty breakfast for both of us, and 30+ minutes on the treadmill for Barak. Once we got going we hopped back on I-94 East out of Bismarck.

We traversed more and more and more miles of expansive North Dakota farm land.

Apparently, it’s not just in Texas that everything is “big”. Salem Sue, for example, is a GIANT cow that stands on a hill near the town of New Salem. I was unable to grab the camera in time; the drive-by photo-shoot at 75 miles/hour was unsuccessful. Alerted by a local of the existence of an even more gigantic buffalo, we stopped in Jamestown to see it. He wasn’t kidding! Meet Dakota Thunder.




After a few short hours we drove into Minnesota, the second time on this 12-day adventure.



Not only is it the State of 10,000 lakes, but it also “embraces” three large watersheds. We were enlightened about this fact by another one of those handy rest-area road signs.



Coon Rapids near Minneapolis offered us a nice place to walk, sit in the hot tub, and stay for the night.

Tomorrow we’re off to the Chicago area.

Day Nine - Livingston MT to Bismarck ND

A beautiful morning greeted us in Paradise Valley, the large Yellowstone River valley between the Absaroka and Gallatin ranges of the Northern Rocky Mountains. Reluctant to leave this remainder of Eden on earth, we packed up the rental car again and continued our journey eastward.

Most of the day we followed the Lewis and Clark Trail: I-90 and 94, along the Yellowstone River. Large signs with interesting tidbits of historical information greeted us along the way.



We were reminded of remarkable men like Jedediah Smith, one of the most famous fur traders and trail blazers during the west-ward expansion of the 19th century.



At Wibaux, the last sizable town on the map before leaving Montana, we read again about the sad consequences of such expansion when devoid of consideration for all of God’s children and creatures.



Immediately upon leaving Montana (a sad moment for Victoria)...



...and being welcomed to the “Western Regions of North Dakota”...



...we entered what is known as the North Dakota Badlands or the Little Missouri National Grasslands.



I think Badlands is a more appropriate term than Grasslands. We failed to see much grass driving through. The miles and miles of wide open spaces and no sign of civilization except for the paved road, an occasional vehicle, and a lone farm in the distance left us speechless. As we neared the city of Dickinson, things changed drastically. Talk about “sprawl” and a construction boon! Ironically, we were unable to find a spot to stay for the night. It was weird!

So, off we went across more of a seemingly deserted section of I-94, the highway we had been on since leaving Montana. We were wondering if the towns that were announced by road-side signs and which figured on our map actually existed! From where we were sitting in the car, we could see no evidence. After a long nine-hour day of travel, we finally rolled into Bismarck, North Dakota’s capital. We found food and a comfy bed rather quickly in this wildly growing city.

Wednesday our plan is to make it to Minneapolis MN area.

Day Eight - Bozeman MT to Livingston MT (through Yellowstone)

How many beautiful days in a row can one have?! Monday was a perfect day to spend in Yellowstone National Park.



Thank goodness we stopped at the West Yellowstone Visitor Center and spoke to Ranger Rick (whose name is really Keith). One actually needs several days to see and experience this breath-taking place of natural beauty. Ranger Keith provided the perfect route for us since we did not have several days to explore one of John Muir’s favorite stomping grounds, but also didn’t want to leave frustrated for having missed the major highlights.



What a feast for the senses! The soft, refreshing scent of myriads of pine trees counteracts the sharp sulfuric smell of the hot springs. Birds, frogs, cascading rivers, and rustling leaves sing their harmonious song to the delight of anyone who will be still and listen.



Victoria says she "shot me a bison" :-)



The majesty of the mountains under the big sky, the colors of budding early-spring flowers, the animals, the rolling rivers, and spectacular geysers compete for the attention of the eye.

We were fortunate to spend only about 20 minutes waiting for Old Faithful to erupt. Here's Old Faithful at work...



After visiting Old Faithful, we had a picnic lunch along the banks of Firehole River.



The next stop along the route Ranger Keith suggested for us was Gibbon Falls.



The last major attraction of the day was Mammoth Hot Springs.



We departed out of the north side of the park through Granier where this famous gate is located.



Our words and cameras fail, but John Muir’s pen captured it well, “Nature’s sources never fail. Like a generous host, she offers her brimming cups of endless variety, served in a grand hall, the sky its ceiling, the mountains its walls, decorated with glorious paintings and enlivened with bands of music ever playing.”



Our view is that nature indeed declares the praises of God.

After departing Yellowstone National Park we only made it as far as Livingston MT where we had another light dinner and found a quaint little hotel appropriately called the Livingston Inn.

We'll see if we can make it into North Dakota on Tuesday...