Digging for Our Roots, Part I: Devil’s Tower, Wyoming

20-22 July, 2012

We headed east out of Scobey and connected with US Highway 85, in North Dakota, to go south to the Black Hills. The CAN/AM highway runs north/south, starting at the Canadian border and ending at the Gulf of Mexico. It is a very nice two lane highway where we averaged 60 mph. We ended up taking it all the way to the Black Hills. Someday, I think that I would like to finish the drive to the Gulf of Mexico, kind of like a North/South Route 66.

As soon as we entered North Dakota, we ran into lots and lots of trucks, drilling platforms and work camps working the Bakken Formation. We had been warned by folks in Scobey that the farther east you go into North Dakota, the rougher the environment would be. Boy, if we were only on the edge of it, I am glad we didn’t go any further east. It was disturbing to see how ad-hoc the housing is and how dusty/dirty everything is because of the trucks. Not a pleasant place to work. And I am skeptical that the companies are focused on being environmentally responsible citizens. But, we all want our oil.

I understand why they call eastern Wyoming and western North Dakota the Great American Desert. It is very dry, mostly sagebrush and few rivers/streams. There are ranches, but they are far apart. We saw many old, fallen down ranch houses and barns – very picturesque but reminders of lost dreams.

The further south we went in North Dakota, the greener the land became, the more cattle we saw and the more prosperous the ranches looked. We stopped for the night at Medora which at the entrance to the Roosevelt National Park. Teddy Roosevelt owned two ranches here and spent a lot of years before and after his presidency in the area.

The next day, we continued south on Highway 85. A whole lot of emptiness. Saw a sign pointing to the Center of the Nation, so we took the turn and drove about 8 miles down a gravel road to where an American flag stood in the middle of a field. There was a hand painted sign claiming this was the “True Center of the Nation.” Later, we figured out that someone was refuting the claim that Belle Fouche, the closest town was the Center of the Nation. They have a small building in the town with some exhibits on how the Center was calculated (takes into account Hawaii and Alaska) and, I suppose, within the margin of error, they could make the claim.

We camped for a night at the base of Devil’s Tower. It was a beautiful, clear evening and we really enjoyed watching the shadows change on the mountain. The next morning, we watched some climbers scaling the mountain and visited the visitor’s center.

Now it is on to the Black Hills where we will stay for five days to see the sights. I am still waiting for the break in the weather and cooler temps. The days continue in the high 90s.

There were all types of oil industry related trucks in North Dakota racing up and down the highway.

Starting to cross the Missouri River in North Dakota.

This is part of the Roosevelt National Park, The red bands are baked soil resulting from the coal veins which, on occasion, catch fire and smolder underground for long periods of time.

One of the neatest playgrounds I have ever seen. There were all sorts of rooms and play areas inside the "town" for all ages and abilities. This was in Medora, just outside of Roosevelt National Park.

We had lunch at Crow Butte, population 0. This was the only building in sight for miles and it was a wonderful surprise - great food and some nice merchandise.