Before noon and after noon

The thing to know about today is that it can clearly be divided into the before noon part and the after noon part. The before noon part was great and exceeded expectations and was enjoyed by all. The same cannot be said for the after noon part.

We started the day by going into Theodore Roosevelt National Park to drive the scenic loop. This 36-mile paved route goes all around the South Unit of the park, and would give us decent views of everything worth seeing. We also planned to stop for two short hikes along the way.

First up on the scenic loop- a stop at one of the half dozen prairie dog towns scattered throughout the park. It was relatively early*, so the prairie dogs were very active and happy to pose for our pictures.

Munching on breakfast.

We drove along a little further and shared this exchange:

Mom- "Do buffalo eat grass?"

Beth- "I don't know. But I think all the buffalo here are in the North Unit of the park."

Literally rounded the bend and... 

BUFFALO PARADE!

We were too excited to count but right in front of us, crossing the road, was a herd of upwards of 15 buffalo*!!! Adult buffaloes, baby buffaloes, and one giant papa buffalo at the end. They were very docile, and we stayed a respectful distance away as they wandered by and went about their business (which was, in fact, eating grass).

Here is one more of the 87 buffalo pictures I took.

We got back in the car and continued on the loop, making our way around to our two hikes. First was Boiscourt Trail. It is hard to see in the picture below, but there is an overlook perched almost on a peninsula right in the center, which was the end of the trail.

Even harder to see there are more buffalo (!) in the meadow below!!!

Our other hike was the Wind Canyon Trail, which took us up to a viewpoint overlooking the Little Missouri River.

Selfie game on point.

Kinda love this picture of Emily at the very top of the trail-

Fierce.

It was time to move on*** so we got back in the car, but we didn't get far because look what we saw next-

Wild horses!!!!!!!!!

So, so, so cool. We all loved our time at the park, and final verdict is that both Medora and Theodore Roosevelt National Park are well worth the stop.

But remember how I said today had two parts, the before noon and the after noon? Well this was all the before noon. In the after noon, the only thing on our itinerary was the long, desolate drive across long, desolate northern Montana. I'm not going to sugarcoat it- it was boring. And with the heavy haze across the atmosphere from the fires, at times it was almost surreal. We drove past the Fort Peck dam and reservoir, and it was difficult to see where the water ended and the sky began.

This went on for 9 hours.

The sun set just before we got to the east side of Glacier, but that is also when the rain started. Which made for a thrilling drive across the mountains, on slick roads in the dark.

There is a reason there aren't any pictures from the after noon. To be honest, we are all feeling unsettled and a little wary about tomorrow.

But we made it!  Around 10:30 we pulled into the KOA, and our kamper kabin is super kute.  So it's time for a good night's sleep, and hopefully it will be nothing but before noon days from here on out.

*Picture was taken at 8:27am which totally qualifies as early.

**Okay, I know they are technically bison but come on, buffalo is a much more fun word to say.

***Time to get to the Visitor Center for shopping.