Theodore Roosevelt National Park-North Unit

This is a warning sign you will see throughout the park. I understand this sign because Buffalo looks to be very docile creatures, but they are a 2000 pound wild animal. 

 So what do you do if a buffalo walking towards on the road? Stop the car and hope it doesn't get perturbed and ram your vehicle and do some severe damage. 

Since it's so close might as well take a picture.

I like this picture because of it being a more natural setting for a Buffalo. The Little Missouri River is in the background.

Here are some education signs that you can read at a pullout along the 28-mile Scenic Drive.

The camp host said it was going to be hot for the next few days and he advised we find a shady campsite. I think we did a pretty good job at doing just that. This is campsite 27 at the Juniper Campground.

We were told Buffalo will wander into the campground and we weren't disappointed. Our tent and campsite were not in any danger because we were at the far end of the wooded area.

Each night at 7 pm a Park Ranger would have an educational talk at the amphitheater. This night was about Buffalo and Aaron is holding a horn. The other talk was about Voltgers which was quite fascinating. 

A view of the Bad Lands along the Scenic Drive.

Turtle River State Park, North Dakota

"It is easy to love a mountain...But the prairie's charm take more looking." This is a quote from an unknown source. The Turtle River State Park is part of a Tallgrass Prairie where the annual precipitation is 24-40 inches.

The mowed area is my trail.

The Chalet Trailhead and the start of the Moose Head Trail.

A little shelter out in the middle of the prairie, I'm guessing for protection if a thunderstorm were to quickly arise so hikers could take cover.

There are 10 trails throughout the park with the shortest being .2 miles and the longest 2.45 miles. This picture was taken along the Riverview Trail.

Turtle River isn't just flat prairie land but has the Turtle River running through it, hence arrives the parks name. This is a view from a high bank looking down at the river.

Our campsite was part of the park's Riverside campsites exclusively for tents. Something a little different from other campgrounds is just beyond the tree in the background you see a car parked and that is where our Jeep is also. We had to carry our stuff a half football field to our campsite.

The park at no cost lent you a fishing pole and a small amount of tackle, and if you were under 16 years old, you could fish without a license. They said the river was stocked with trout, but I think we could have fished all day and still would not have caught anything.

  A Sunset over the prairie.

About 22 miles West of Grand Forks, ND on U.S. Highway 2  you will find the Turtle River State Park. The park is 784 acres. The opening quote I discovered is accurate. A prairie isn't dull like looking over a field planted with corn. There is a different beauty than what you would get with woodlands or mountains. I'm thankful to have spent a few days here and experience something different.


 In the video below, Aaron is doing a little horseplay with Gypsy, and Gypsy can get a bit rough and do a little nipping. I find the ending of the video funny because in the wrestling he temporarily lost his phone. The panic in his voice kind of tells you how important it is to him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3MziSM1AQk

Porcupine Mountains- Nawadaha, Manido, and Manabezho Falls

There are three waterfalls all in the same general location along the Presque Isle River a short distance before the river empties out into Lake Superior. First, there is the Nawadaha then a short distance downstream is the Manido falls then very shortly further down is the Manabezho falls. My pictures are kind of jumbled up, and I can't really identify what falls are what. But if you ever visit here, you're going see all three.

A view from the top of the Nawadaho Falls.

Most of the viewing is by a series of wooden stairs and platforms.

After you pass the Manabezho Falls, the walkway crosses the Presque Isle River. It's an expansion rope type bridge and moves and sways if you jump up and down. This is where the Lake Superior Trail begins at the other end of the park 16-miles from where we entered at the other end for our Lake Superior Trail hike.

 

From the center of the bridge, you got this view of the violent rapids.

Aaron probably did something he wasn't supposed to do, but he took a close up video of the falls. He wasn't in any danger unless he stepped into the stream. He took this picture of Gypsy and I waiting for his return. 

To view all three waterfall, it's quite a little walk but is something you can do in just a few hours time. I would say it is a must see if you're visiting the Porcupine Mountains.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goTQjrO83w0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kagH064UNw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyR9bzqifhw

Our campsite was at the Union River Outpost. As far as we could see, there was only three campsite, and they were huge. Our site had a driveway longer than most residential drives, and the area was almost a half lot in size. We were in black bear country so we keep the Jeep close by and had bear spray in the tent with us.   

Porcupine Mountains- Lake Superior Trail

Starting at the trailhead off of Highway 107, our goal was to hike 3 miles to Buckshot Cabin.

 Aaron insisted on wearing the backpack with all our water and food. It might have weighed 25 pounds.

There were some wet areas, and the boardwalk was nice to keep your feet dry

A well-worn trail and blue diamonds keep us on the right path, so we did wander down any false trails.

 Along the way, there were several benches to rest and take in the view of Lake Superior in the distance.

Buckshot Cabin. There are five total of these cabins on the Lake Superior Trail.

We ate our MRE lunch on makeshift benches that made an L shape around a fire pit.

The Shore of Lake Superior. It was quite rocky and not ideal for swimming.

Aaron found an old saw blade among the rocks. We decided to hike it back to the Jeep. I wonder how old it is and how it ended up where it did, and what was it used for?

The hike back was strenuous being uphill it seemed most of the way, and the trail very rocky as you can see from the picture. We were creeping along at a pace of 55 minutes per mile, and Gypsy and Aaron are exhausted. Funny thing we passed this young lady with a full backpack of 40+ pounds as perky as could be. Must be nice to be in optimal shape.  

There were many trails we could have chosen, but I'm glad we hiked the Lake Superior Trail. We will return at another time and stay a week and explore this incredible wilderness in more depth.

Porcupine Mountains-Lake of the Clouds

Lake of the Clouds

Gypsy seems to enjoy the view as well as we did.

A view of the Upper Carp River looking East from the observation area

A ground-level view of the lake from the Mirror Trail.

 Looking up to where we had come.

Wooden bridge over the Carp River going South on the Mirror Trail.

Aaron is looking in the water from the bridge, and there appear to be eggs in the water. Our conclusion is someone threw chicken eggs over the bridge into the shallow water below.

There were so many trails to explore and so little time. The Porcupine Mountains was more or less a stop on our way to a different destination. We did stay an extra day, but these trails will have to wait for another visit.

Union River Campground site #1.