After a late arrival in Medora ND, we went entered Theodore Roosevelt National Park, South Unit this morning.  We began our windshield tour of this one part of the park as the northern part of the Badlands.   We took the 36 mile scenic loop drive.  At the onset we came across a Prairie Dog town, one of several in the park.  Since it was early, there was a lot of dog talk, chirping, back and forth to each other as the town started its day.  There were two bison at this spot, about 100 yards away, so the pictures weren’t that good.  We did come across a lone bison on the side of the road.  We think that he wasn’t part of any herd due to his age, too young to challenge the dominant bull in the herd.   

Other wild life that we saw along the loop included wild turkey, wild horses (which don’t look that much different than domesticated horses) and our first snake, which Roger said it was a rat snake of some variety.

We finally came across a herd of bison along the Little Missouri River.  This is a very majestic site.  We left the South Unit of the park and headed 50 miles north to the TRNP North Unit.  We were the only vehicle on the road inside the park which should have given us some idea that something was up.  The road was closed at the 6 mile point so we had to turnaround.  This part of the park was a bust.

Once outside of TRNP, we headed north in North Dakota towards US 2 which would take us west through Montana.  As we got past the park and national grasslands, we started to see the oil boom.  Frac-ing is in full swing in North Dakota.  We stopped at Walmart in Williston ND to do some grocery shopping.  The lion share of the shoppers looked like roughneck males, stocking up on food supplies.  The 18 wheels hauling equipment on US 85 were almost train like.  All sorts of energy companies, and associated drilling companies are present in Williston.  This part of ND is probably what the Midland Odessa Texas area looked like in the 50 years ago.  Housing is at a critical shortage and modular homes and building are going like crazy as well.  There are billboards that read “Housing is part of your work benefit.” I have read that unemployment is next to zero in the frac-ing zone.   We drove across a gravel part of US 2, that’s under repair.  It was really slow going, and teeth rattling.   Guess it’s all part of the growth in the region. 

Tonight’s stop is Havre MT.  It’s about half way across Montana and about 30 south of the Canadian border.   Observation:  almost every gas stop and little town has an affiliation with the American Indians, as there are Casinos small and somewhat larger in South Dakota, North Dakota and Montana.  You’d think the population would have a gambling problem.