Miles City MT to Bismark, ND

June 14th 2025

The day started early(4:15) with a beautiful Robin singing in the tree above my tent. I slept a little longer, then the train at 5am was enough to get me up. The moon was still up and the sun was just beginning to rise. I took pictures of both as well as a pair of bald eagles sitting in a dead tree over looking the river. It would be a bird day today. Over the course of the day , I would see not only bald eagles and Robins, but Magpies, a turkey, another eagle( in my road) and a red tailed hawk. A few smaller birds flew almost into my windshield on the highway too.

I made my coffee and some oatmeal hoping to get out of camp early. I took a walk with my coffee to take sunrise photos and more pictures of the beautiful Cottonwood trees. When I arrived last night, it looked like it was snowing with all the Cottonwood seeds floating and getting attached to everything. I packed up the wetish sandy tent the best I could and was ready to go by 7:30am.

I had a two hour drive to reach Theodore Roosevelt National Park. When I was about half way there, I stopped in a little town for gas and coffee. I got a coffee and a baked good and took a short break. The weather continued to be clear and cool enough to need my jacket liner and heated liner for riding on the interstate. I continued on and arrived to TRNP at around 10:30am. I bought gas first and they had the old style gas pumps with the flipping numbers and you had to go inside and prepay. I took a short break and watched the goings on in this tourist friendly cowboy town. I saw a horse drawn carrigae go by. Next to the park entrance were other horses and carriages getting ready to give rides and well as horses getting tacked up to go hit the trails.

I mounted up my red steed Kim, and travelled across the street to join the short line to get into Theodore Roosevelt National Park South. It was $25 to get in for a bike. It was well worth it. It wasn't too crowded despite being a Saturday. I stopped first at the visitors center, to go pee and to get my stickers for the bike. When I was all ready, I mounted up and started the 20 mile out and back drive. The speed limit is mostly 25mph on the road. I find out why when within the first mile, we are stopped because there are 4 Bison in the road. Next we came to an expanse of field that was all prairie dog mounds with cute Prairie dogs popping up out of them. If you listen carefully, you can hear them squeek. They pop up on their hind legs and look around. So cute. As I continued on the curvy road, the breathtaking views continued to amaze. I was on the lookout for Bison now and was also hoping to see wild horses. The fields were a bright green and the hills were striped as in one of those sand layered bottle things you do at a fair. There was sand of different colors, with oranges and reds mixed in . The valleys and cliffs, interchanged with large overlooks, made for perfect picture taking opportunities. There were some trees, as well as pretty orange and yellow wildflowers. The large valleys and canyons were full of lumpy sand castle like hills.

The traffic was light, so I could take my time. I did see a park Ranger stop someone. They were very serious guys. I decided that staying within the speed limit was a good choice. Just before I came to the turn around, I noticed a small herd of Bison and Bison calves grazin gon the side of the road. The road usually goes in a loop. Part of the road was closed due to a fire, so at the end you have to turn around and go back. I rested here a bit and had an apple and some left over chips. It would take an hour to drive back to the start. At this stop there were many Bison footprints in the dried mud. The prints were at least 6 inches across. I mounted up for the return trip hoping to get a picture of a Bison. As I rode on I came upon a small herd of Bison grazing. I stiopped briefly and took a few photos. A few miles later I came to a pull off and stopped. There were 4 older male Bison staying cool next to the cliffs. It was a perfect photo opp. One was laying down in the mud. So cool. I also was able to get a picture of the pretty orange wildflowers. I continued on and eventually exited the park.

It was 1:30 pm, so I drove around looking for a place to eat lunch. I saw a sign for the Cowboy Cafe. A little looking around and I found it tucked back on a side street. It was a cute little place with black and white photos of cowboy's and cowboy scenes all over the walls. The waitress said that the photos are all of cowboys that lived in the area. I noticed only one cowgirl an Ann Myers. The seats all had brands painted on them. Rob Callan would have liked a sign that read "Keep your fork theres pie" I had a chicken salad sanwich on a croisant with sweet potato fries. Unfortunately, I was too full for pie. The nice waitress gave me a large to go cup of ice water to put in my water bladder. As I am driving away from the cafe a beautiful team of buckskins is pulling a wagon of tourists down the street.

I get back on Interstate 94 East heading for Bismark ND. It is another two hours away. I stopped with 75 miles to go at a truck stop. I was getting cold going 75mph . I bought gas, snacks, and coffee. I put on my heated liner to add warmth to my jacket. As I was sitting there a large horse trailer pulled up to get gas. On the side of the trailer there was a big sticker that read "Life is a journey, enjoy the ride" A perfect quote for my journey. There was also a cool old barn across the street. I actually saw lots of horse trailers today. I am assuming that they were on their way to ride in the National Park.

I rode on noticing the land was made up of long sloping hills. I expected it to be flat. I arrived in Bismark and my exit was under construction. Luckily, I found my way and arrived at the Bismark KOA. It was up on a hill overlooking the city. I have a nice site with grass for the tent, a picnic table, and a cool western themed bench. I drape the tent, fly , and ground cloth, on the picinic table and bench to dry in the wind, while I go up to the main building to do laundry. It is a good time to write, while I wait. It is 8:15 already. I still need to set up camp, eat, and check out the sunset.