North to Alaska 2010

North Dakota - Montana

We thought we would be stopping at the Theodore Roosevelt National Park for the day and spending the night in the National Campground but because of the tire problem, we opted to keep going and save this national park for another trip. We did, however stop at the Painted Canyon which is at the very eastern side of the park. Words do not describe the sheer beauty and magnitude of this area. Pictures do not do it justice either.

The red color you see on top of the "hills" is caused from lignite coal burning below ground. You can't actually see anything burning - smoke or flames - but it is there. It is easy to imagine how hard it would be to find your way out of this area. The Painted Canyon is also known as the Badlands of North Dakota.

Throughout this area the hills are starting to show conical mounds and buttes. The ranches are vast - with about 30 miles between them. After the National Grasslands, the hills flatten out from high rollers to long grades - still very pretty.

We have seen a herd of Mule deer and several Pronghorn Antelopes as we travel through this area and the further west we go, the more stark and desolate it becomes.

Tomorrow we will enter into Alberta, Canada - a new province for us.