Just In Time

I am the luckiest person on Earth.  After driving an hour to get to the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, my mom and I got to view the entire park and on our way out were told we were the last people on the road, probably until spring.  They'd closed it thanks to the steady snowfall pelting the park's meandering road that day.

Let me tell you, it's not like we rushed to get there either.  Before entering the park, we actually drove another 16 miles North to go to what I truly believe is the hellhole of North Dakota: Watford City.  Why so harsh?  This is the closest town to the North Unit entrance and the only place for MILES around.  Was it wrong for me to assume there would be someplace to eat there?  Yes, apparently.  Everything in that town was CLOSED or locked for inexplicable reasons, despite the glowing OPEN sign in the window.  Add to that slippery roads and unhelpful people and you have what I refer to as the second worst tourist destination in the world.  I usually love places that I go and that's why my list of horrible destinations is only two cities long:

1. Myrtle Beach, SC - Let's take a beach and completely cover it with concrete, then put one of four giant discount beachwear shops every two feet and call it a fun place to go.
2. Watford City, ND - I hate this town.

Anyway, all you need to do is avoid hitting Watford City in the winter and bring your own sandwich, then you'll get to see some amazing things in the North Unit.  I actually prefer the scenery in the North Unit as the bluffs are larger and everything is more dramatic.  Plus, you have the chance to see a couple things you can't see in the South Unit: Bighorn Sheep & Mountain Lions.  Oh, I've never actually seen either of them in the North Unit, but it's fun thinking that one could show up just around the Riverbend.  I keep thinking they might because I am, after all, the luckiest person on Earth.

Cannonball Concretions

Riverbend Overlook

Oxbow Overlook