The Great American Road Trip

We left Bismarck later than we wanted to. Weariness and a definite case of procrastination was my problem. Then the boys were fighting, which led to me to finally lose it as well, and, like I said, we got out of town late.

Our destination was Bozeman, Montana. The truck was quiet as we drove down the highway, each of us stewing in our seats. It stayed that way for quite a while. And we had a ways to go today.

We didn’t have any plans to stop in North Dakota. Just drive and get home. But, I had realized the night before that we would basically drive right through a National Park: the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. As we got closer and closer, I started thinking about what this trip was about, seeing America, and after awhile I knew that we had to go. I didn’t say anything to the boys, and I just took the exit. We come up to the entrance and still, the boys are silent.

We enter the park and slowly drive, taking in the scenery. Typical National Park-the scenery is gorgeous. Then we come to a place where people have pulled over. In National Parks, this usually means something cool is up ahead. We park next to the other vehicles and I say, “Everybody out.”

At first we’re not sure what we’re looking at. Mounds of dirt scattered over an otherwise green field. Then I noticed a loud screeching which sounded like a flock of birds. That’s when I realize that we’re looking at a prairie dog colony. I spot the little critters popping out of their burrows, and squeaking at us. One would squeak, then another one would, all the while they are staring at us. It was freaking adorable!

Their cuteness was impossible to ignore as they scurried around, squeaking and standing on their hind legs to look at us. Once they figured we weren’t a threat, they scrambled around in a frenzy of business. I couldn’t tell you what they were doing, but it was fun to watch.

We eventually pile back into the truck, and the spell has been broken. Everyone is speaking again. We eventually spend more time than we than we have, driving around, looking for other wildlife. I told them about a story in the news that their mom had told me about. Apparently, some kid was gored by a bison (buffalo) here just last week, so I know there are bison here. We decided that we wanted to find them, so we drove on.

For awhile we saw absolutely nothing but gorgeous scenery. That’s nice, but we wanted bison. No luck. We spot an antelope off in the distance, but as we slow down, it spooks and runs away. The main loop road is closed due to a recent rockslide, so we turn around, slightly disappointed.

I’m slightly miffed that a park known for bison doesn’t have any today. Then, on our way out, we spot something far out in the distance. Large, dark brown, dusty figures, maybe a mile away. I slow down and point them out to the boys. Friggin’ bison, way out on the horizon. We can barely see them, but they’re there. Mission accomplished, sort of.

Before we leave the park, we spot a really cool thing. A small herd of wild horses had stopped to relax in a field just by the side of the road. I had never really seen wild horses before. They were beautiful.

We left the park in good spirits after entering mad at each other. I guess this is the power of nature. We decide to stop for lunch in an old west town just outside the park. While looking at the menu, I noticed that they serve bison burgers. Remembering how we basically didn’t see any in the park, I turn to the waiter and say, “I’ll have a bison burger please.” Screw you, damn bison.

One last thing:

• The park is dedicated to our former president, Teddy Roosevelt. Like most people, there are good and bad to be found in him. One of the good is how he started the National Park service by opening the first one, Yellowstone National Park. Sickly as a child, Roosevelt pushed himself to be physically fit, and the outdoors became a favorite part of his regimen. He hunted and fished and hiked all over this area in North Dakota, so it seemed fitting to name this park after him.
• One more thing: One of my favorite stories involving Roosevelt was the time he was running for President, late in his life. Rejected by the Republicans, he started his own party: the Bull Moose Party. As a third party candidate, he would get more votes than any other third party candidate in history. But for me, the real story is during campaigning. He had stopped in Wisconsin to give a speech, but as he left his hotel, a deranged man stepped out of the crowd and shot him once in the chest. The crowd jumped on the shooter and began pummeling him. They would’ve killed him had Roosevelt not stepped forward to stop them. “I want this man to stand trial.” The crowd handed the shooter over to the police. Roosevelt’s aides were concerned for his health, but Roosevelt insisted he was fine and continued on to deliver his speech. Apparently, the bullet had passed through an eyeglass case, and his folded up speech he had in his greasy pocket of his coat before lodging in his chest, just missing any vital organs. With the bullet still in him, he started the speech by telling everyone that he had just been shot, holding up the blood-stained speech. He then said, “Its going to take a lot more than that to stop a Bull Moose!”, and he gave his speech which was over an hour in length. Only then would he allow anyone to take him to the hospital. That, my friends, is a badass.

We didn’t make it all the way to Bozeman, but Boise is still our next goal, which means we have a lot of driving to do. Still, I’m glad we took the detour. See ya next time!