Western National Parks & More - Fall 2015

[Pmount]

Sunday, 9/13
Start: Medora Campground, Medora, ND
End: Cottonwood Campground (NPS), Theodore Roosevelt NP, Medora, ND

Before the campground shut for the winter I was able to get a load of laundry done, should take
us home. They had 96 units to leave today! The manager very nicely made available 2 washing
machines, she was busy washing linens from the rental cabins.
We drove out to the Painted Canyon unit, at exit 32 on I-94, about 8 miles east of Medora. We
hiked the one mile loop. It was getting very warm by the time we finished at noon. We decided
to stay in the area another day.

Painted Canyon




We went back into town and the park and got a campsite at Cottonwood Campground, about 5
miles inside the South Unit. After eating lunch we did the 36 mile scenic drive in this area. We
loved watching the active prairie dogs, most out away from their burrow openings. Along the
drive we saw some single bison and a couple of wild horses. We went back to the visitor
center so I could complete the Junior Ranger booklet. As I was older than 14 I had to complete
all of the activities. As always, I learned several interesting facts about the park.

Junior Ranger presentation


Seemed like a good idea to go into town and get ice cream, it was 85 degrees. After a bit of
driving around we finally found the only place in town serving ice cream. What a deal - a single
scoop was much more than just a scoop. We wondered if it was an end of season scoop!
Before heading back to camp we did some letterboxing in the area. With our North Dakota finds
that leaves 3 states for me to find a letterbox; Delaware and West Virginia (Summer 2016) and
Hawaii (date undetermined).

Back to camp for dinner and a quiet, cooling evening.

Passport Stamps
Theodore Roosevelt National Park - Painted Canyon
Bonus
Bison - small

Wildlife Sightings
Bison
Black-tailed Prairie Dog
Horse - wild

Common Grackle
Common Raven
Turkey Vulture
Song Sparrow
American Robin
Mountain Bluebird