Devil's Tower

While in Montana we took a very long side trip to Devil's Tower.  This landmark is about an hour north of Sundance but the scenery is rather bleak and the road a bit rough-hence the very long drive.  However, it was definitely worth it.

I kept thinking, "Surely it can't be that far away."  But it was!

Look familiar?  This location was used in the filming of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind."

Turn around and look across the street and this is the gorgeous site awaiting you.

Devil's Tower was the first official national monument established by Theodore Roosevelt.

It was a long drive but after seeing the magnificence of this area, I am very glad we took the time to make the drive.

Norske Hostfest

The Norske Hostfest is held annually in Minot, ND and is North America's largest Scandinavian festival.

The Hostfest brings in visitors from all around the world, and will cause this city which is already busting at the seams, to fill to overflowing.  Hotels are booked solid and many visitors will have to stay in Bismarck which is 90 minutes away.

This year the Hostfest will be bringing many top named performers such as; Martina McBride, Trace Adkins, The Judds, The Gaithers and Charley Pride. 

In addition to the music the festival will feature Scandinavian displays of dance, crafts and food.

Sounds like a fun time but I am not sure my hubby's work schedule will allow us to visit, but hopefully we can make it.

Sunday Phunnies

One-liners ...

I'm not tense ... just terribly, terribly alert.

If Fed Ex and UPS were to merge, would they call it Fed UP?

If quitters never win, and winners never quit, what fool came up with, "Quit while you're ahead"?

Do Lipton employees take coffee breaks?

What hair color do they put on the driver's licenses of bald men?

I was thinking that woman should put pictures of missing husbands on beer cans.

I was thinking about how people seem to read the Bible a whole lot more as they get older, then it
dawned on me ... they were cramming for their finals.

I thought about how mothers feed their babies with little tiny spoons and forks, so I wonder what Chinese mothers use. Toothpicks?

How much deeper would oceans be if sponges didn't live there?

If it's true that we are here to help others, then what exactly are the OTHERS here for?

Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.

If a person with multiple personalities threatens suicide, is that considered a hostage situation?

If a cow laughed, would milk come out its nose?

I went for a walk last night and my kids asked me how long I'd be gone. I said, "The whole time."

How come you don't ever hear about "gruntled" employees? And who has been dissing them anyhow?

After eating, do amphibians need to wait an hour before getting OUT of the water?

Why don't they just make mouse-flavored cat food?

If you're sending someone some styrofoam, what do you pack it in?

I just got skylights put in my place. The people who live above me are furious.

Is it true that cannibals don't eat clowns because they taste funny?

Isn't Disney World a people trap operated by a mouse?

Whose cruel idea was it for the word "lisp" to have an "s" in it?

Since light travels faster than sound, isn't that why some people appear bright until you hear them speak?

If it's zero degrees outside today and it's supposed to be twice as cold tomorrow, how cold is it going to be?

Since Americans throw rice at weddings, do Asians throw hamburgers?

Why does a 24-hour-open store have locks on the doors?

If aliens are a more intelligent race, how come they abduct the stupidest people?

Madness takes it's toll. Please have exact change!

If our knees bent the other way, what would chairs look like?

Painted Canyon

Traveling from Medora to Dickinson, ND we saw a sign for the Painted Canyon and decided to stop.  I sure am glad we did, it was gorgeous.

These photos almost look fake, but I promise we took these ourself.

The colors don't show up much in the photos but the top of these buttes are red, almost like the clay in Georgia.

This is a fantastic example of the variety of topography in the badlands.

I am not sure how far you can see but it sure looks like you could see all the way to Montana.



We really enjoyed this stop on our trip and the fantastic scenery.  Hope you enjoyed!

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Theodore Roosevelt National Park has 2 sections. We visited the south section which is right next to the small town of Medora, North Dakota.

The little guy in the front was fussing at us.  I guess we were too close for comfort.

He had nothing to worry about, we stayed in the car.



Prairie dogs look cute but I bet they are very ferocious and I did not want to find out firsthand.

Absolutely beautiful colors.



We finally saw some buffalo.

This sage was growing all over and it smells heavenly.  I shredded some and put it on the floorboards of our car. The smell lasted most of the day.



This picture looks so fake to me.  If I had not taken it, I would never believe it is real.

If you ever have a chance to visit this area I would highly recommend it.  The beauty is so different from the forests and beaches of our home area and yet so starkly eyecatching.

Next we headed down to Wyoming and South Dakota.

Whirlwind Trip

Over the Labor Day Weekend we took a whirlwind trip from central North Dakota to the Badlands in the western part of the state, Montana, South Dakota and Wyoming. 

We collect coffee mugs from each state we have visited and our collection is pretty extensive.  We were on a quest this weekend to add to our collection.  We have cups from all over the southern and eastern parts of the country and even the west coast-we even have Alaska and Hawaii, but somehow we never visited the midsection of our country.  This weekend was our opportunity.

We left Minot very early in the morning...

and drove to Montana. 

This is the first restaurant in Montana and we decided to stop here for breakfast.

We were able to pick up a coffee cup at the first place we looked so we turned around and headed back to the badlands of North Dakota.

We passed the area where the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers converge.  These mighty rivers don't look like much up here but they make up for it farther along their courses.

It wasn't long before we started to see the buttes North Dakota.

As we got closer the magnificent, raw beauty of this area was revealed.

We visited a small town, Medora, that is nestled at the foot of the buttes and at the entrance to Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

Medora is a very cute little tourist town with about 30 small businesses all geared to the tourist trade, however, it is very well maintained and a great place to visit.



From here we entered the National Park and I will share those photos next.  I hope you are enjoying traveling with us.