(click on pics to enlarge)
Welcome to East River Road in southwestern North Dakota. I was taking a weekend trip north from Rapid City, SD to Roosevelt National Park...as I perused my detailed map, I saw a backroad that would take me to the tourist town of Medora, ND...just my speed (the road, not the town!)...
40 miles of the above....in the time I took dawdling along and stopping here, there, and yon, I saw but 2 vehicles. Traveling with the windows down, the radio never on to begin with...the Meadowlarks providing a constant song as I meandered...and the windows down with the pups working their noses in the warm breeze...I'd swear they were smiling...
This is the edge of what's called the North Dakota Badlands, which I always thought of as the South Dakota Badlands "with hair", since there was so much more greenery...and less well-known, hence less-traveled (a GOOD thing!!!)...
You could pull over anywhere...let the pups out, walk around, take neat close-ups of something like the Prickly Rose above (great wallpaper, by the way), and have it all to yourself...luckily no Prairie Rattlers made themselves known...!
And it went on forever, so it seemed. You pass through public and private land, and rarely knew which was which...animals, wild and domestic ones, free-ranging like the antelope pair below...
The scenery changing from dry and rugged to lush and rolling, all begging to be explored...or at least to be honored by simply sitting still and soaking in all of the beauty...
As I came around one bend, there was a herd of horses...domestic, of course, but out in what you would call the 'middle of nowhere'...and they stood right in the middle of this gravel road, even as I slowed to a snail's pace before stopping the car altogether. This mare and foal all but posed for me for a couple of quick snaps...
I can't begin to tell you how therapeutic such a drive is...to not look at a watch or deal with a cell phone, and to have nothing but silence envelop you, outside of the natural sounds that came with the territory...for hours....
So here's a hearty cheer to the backroads crying to be explored...and to our hearts that long to experience such treasures. May we all have the courage of heart to say "no" to the trappings of modern life, and the bravery to step out in a different...slower...more meaningful direction.
You'll be glad you did.
Welcome to East River Road in southwestern North Dakota. I was taking a weekend trip north from Rapid City, SD to Roosevelt National Park...as I perused my detailed map, I saw a backroad that would take me to the tourist town of Medora, ND...just my speed (the road, not the town!)...
40 miles of the above....in the time I took dawdling along and stopping here, there, and yon, I saw but 2 vehicles. Traveling with the windows down, the radio never on to begin with...the Meadowlarks providing a constant song as I meandered...and the windows down with the pups working their noses in the warm breeze...I'd swear they were smiling...
This is the edge of what's called the North Dakota Badlands, which I always thought of as the South Dakota Badlands "with hair", since there was so much more greenery...and less well-known, hence less-traveled (a GOOD thing!!!)...
You could pull over anywhere...let the pups out, walk around, take neat close-ups of something like the Prickly Rose above (great wallpaper, by the way), and have it all to yourself...luckily no Prairie Rattlers made themselves known...!
And it went on forever, so it seemed. You pass through public and private land, and rarely knew which was which...animals, wild and domestic ones, free-ranging like the antelope pair below...
The scenery changing from dry and rugged to lush and rolling, all begging to be explored...or at least to be honored by simply sitting still and soaking in all of the beauty...
As I came around one bend, there was a herd of horses...domestic, of course, but out in what you would call the 'middle of nowhere'...and they stood right in the middle of this gravel road, even as I slowed to a snail's pace before stopping the car altogether. This mare and foal all but posed for me for a couple of quick snaps...
I can't begin to tell you how therapeutic such a drive is...to not look at a watch or deal with a cell phone, and to have nothing but silence envelop you, outside of the natural sounds that came with the territory...for hours....
So here's a hearty cheer to the backroads crying to be explored...and to our hearts that long to experience such treasures. May we all have the courage of heart to say "no" to the trappings of modern life, and the bravery to step out in a different...slower...more meaningful direction.You'll be glad you did.
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