Driving through the Badlands

Well, we sure were hoping the rain and snow would have stopped by this morning, but no such luck. It was still snowing when we pulled away from our hotel. There is a lot of farming land in N. Dakota and everywhere you look it is so flat for miles and miles. But all of sudden you start seeing small buttes which is the start of the Badlands. We took some pictures from the car, but they do not do the scenery any justice. We also passed Chase Lake which is a National Wildlife Refuge started by Teddy Roosevelt. It has the largest breeding colonies of American White Pelicans. It looks so strange to be driving along an interstate in North Dakota and seeing hundreds of Pelicans. Our first National Park stop was at the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Lots of great Teddy Roosevelt history. Did you know as he was giving a speech in Syracuse, NY a man jumped from the crowd and shot him in the chest. It was not serious because he finished his speech before getting medical treatment. The shirt that he wore with the bullet hole in it was on display. Just a little trivia. We were well into Montana by the time we drove out of the snow. The sun was actually trying to break through the clouds when we pulled into Billings.Posted by Barbara. More tomorrow...