Hiking Challenge - Day 3

Today we inadvertently blazed a new trail. Well, new for humans anyway. On the map that Nathan has there is a little loop trail on the East side of the park that starts next to the bison round-up pen in which Nathan spent four days wrangling bison in November. When we got there, no trail could be found, so we started down a deer/elk trail and went with the flow.

Bison Round-Up Enclosure

We ended up walking along a plateau right at the edge of prairie grasslands and badlands, scaring four elk out of the brush as we descended down a bluff and into an otherworldly habitat.

Canonball Concretion

I love walking off-trail and often wondered if in the place I last took a step I am the first human being to ever step there. I've only had that feeling once before when we lost the trail climbing Reynolds at Glacier and ended up scrambling up an unmarked side.


These tiny sticks looked like they were fighting. We also saw some deer, but no mountain lions or rattle snakes like I was hoping. It's pretty easy to hike off-trail in Theodore Roosevelt because, as Nathan points out, if you just walk far enough, you're sure to hit a fence or a road.

Afterwards we decided to drive into Belfield and eat at the Trapper's Kettle, which I mentioned back in February.

North Dakota Dreamin'

I'm in Rochester right now, but there's really nothing exciting to report. So instead, let me draw your attention to where Nathan and I ate last Saturday in Williston, ND: Trapper's Kettle.

You will need to watch the video on their website as the location in Belfield (15 miles from Medora) was in a show called "Extreme Truckstops" on the Travel Channel. We haven't been to that one, but I have a feeling we'll get there soon. I've actually made fun of this place before as the sign outside simply reads "Restaurant" and the usual vehicles in the parking lot indicate not only that our Alero would be out of place, but that if we didn't sport beards, cowboy boots, and a road-weary expression we wouldn't be seated. Luckily, Nathan is working on two of those and the Williston location was more family-oriented.

It was a great little place - fantastic tomato soup and my chicken fried steak came with some red thing that we still can't identify (Schrute Farms?). There weren't as many dead animals as the Belfield location too, just a nice set of traps and a cute buffet-filled canoe. All in all, I'm looking forward to visiting the location closer to home - there's really no end to the fun things you can find just around the corner in North Dakota!