Drama at the campsite…..Scooter meets a bison!

We woke up one morning at our campsite in Teddy Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota with  2 VERY large male bison roaming around our campsite. The campground host had warned us the night before that the bison have used the RVs and cars as a scratching post and it sure looked like the largest of the two males was headed right for poor little Scooter – the bison was much bigger than she is! We held our breath hoping that if he did rub up against her he wouldn’t tip her over….thankfully, he  passed her by and walked over to a tree and scratched his back on it instead!

The bison checking out Scooter ( our Smart Car)

Bison scratching on the tree - thank goodness! Click on the arrow to see the video clip.

Molly's thinking - wow that's a  big dog

Our route started out in NE Minnesota through Duluth and along the north shore of Lake Superior, through the Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness area and then on to North Dakota. The landscape changed dramatically from the rocky cliffs of Lake Superior and north woods of Minnesota to the plains and badlands of North Dakota. We were lucky enough to spot some wildlife along the way but not lucky enough to get a picture …. A big black bear, a mother sandhill crane and her baby, white pelicans          ( who would have thought there would be white pelicans so far from the ocean), a golden eagle and a coyote.

Some highlights along the way:

• Duluth – watching 1,000’ freighters in  the harbor 

Lower span is raised up for large ships

Bridge raised up for 1,000' freighter

• Minnesota’s north shore drive and the north woods wilderness

 

The first office for 3M corporation - fascinating history!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Split Rock Lighthouse  from the 1880's

Gooseberry Falls

Wolf at the International Wolf Center in Ely

Waterfall in the Boundary Waters Wilderness

  

• Dinosaur  skeletons at the Dakota Dinosaur museum

  

Allosaurus and Triceratops skeletons found in North Dakota

• Teddy Roosevelt National Park

Teddy Roosevelt's cabin on his ranch - 1880's

Pronghorn antelope

Wild horse in the national park

Prairie dog sounding the alarm. Click on the arrow to see the video clip.

Still westward bound 2,341 miles behind us in Rose and 1,675 in Scooter so far…. now we're on our way to Big Sky country in Montana and the BitterRoot mountains in Idaho!