| Some things can just not be shown on a still camera. One is the
sheer vastness of these spaces. Nor the straightness of the roads. This, if
possible, was an even emptier landscape than Kansas. Actually if you go east
from the Rockies in Montana there are over 1000 miles of this. It is
mindbending, but has to be experienced before you can begin to comprehend. |  |
But at this stage we were only heading north, from South Dakota into North Dakota, a mere day's journey.
We had thought that the South Dakota Badlands was a geological oddity, but we found virtually the same construction at the Theodore Roosevelt National Park, otherwise known as the North Dakota Badlands.
The colour variations were slightly different with some blues and greys. The
grasses had also taken more root along the striations. It also seemed
smoother and rounder. Perhaps it is just a little further along the
erosion cycle.| The same sorts of wildlife were about but
here we found the largest herd of wild buffalo we had seen. We only
caught about a fifth of the herd on this shot. They seem quite
uninterested in the constant passage of humans and vehicles. But we
weren't going to risk it. You feel a bit vulnerable on the scooter -
they can run faster than it can go! |  |
 | There was more
grassland here and so we found a small herd of wild horses complete with
foals. They were a little more nervous of the traffic. But the foals were
very lively and a joy to watch.. |
| Jan is very interested in the plants (we have a whole set of
photos of plants which might make it to pages on their own eventually). But
periodically we get lucky and manage to catch some of the butterflies, of
which we have seen hundreds. This one was particularly colourful but well
camouflaged. They are usually quite dull and difficult to see when still and
only show the vivid colours when moving. |  |
It had been a very hot and humid day so we were not surprised when a thunder and lightning show started up about 2330hrs. We sat and watched the show for over an hour. The following day we discovered it had actually hit a town called Dickinson MT, about 30 miles east of us. Most of the weather moves west to east but the area is well known for brewing up storms for the rest of the US. Almost a million pounds of damage was caused apparently.
| The town of Medora was founded in the 1800s by a French nobleman,
Antoine Amedee Marie Vincent Amat Manea de Vallombrosa (what a name!), who
built a huge meat processing factory here. It didn't work out and he went
bankrupt. Only this chimney survives and a 'chateau' furnished with original
imports from France which is one of the
local sights (which we didn't go to see - we've seen REAL chateaux!). |  |
 | We see lots of
buildings of varying architectural merit. This was the town General Store,
the only grocery! Suffice to say the local restaurants, and everybody else,
must shop somewhere else (at least 50 miles away), because the stock of
anything useful was negligible. I think the wintertime population is about
100. |
| There was a museum dedicated to the cowboy and the west. It was
still under construction while we were there. There were a lot of
photographs and stories of old cowboys, ranch owners and rodeo stars, some
of which were interesting. There were more women heavily involved than you
might expect. There were also some pretty good bronzes which is an art form we
have seen a lot of. |  |
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