The Other Badlands

August 5-7, 2019

Tobacco Gardens Resort & Marina, Watford City, North Dakota

Day 52-54

What a difference a day makes; or a state boarder in this case. Construction delays on Route 2 make this a very long trip today. Route was about 200 miles and there was a time change from Mountain to Central. I left at 10:15am MT and didn't get into Tobacco at 4:30pm CT.

The topography started to change the last 25 miles of Montana. Now the hills are softer, gentler, and more green and yellow, too. Lusher. But there was another huge difference once I crossed the border into North Dakota. So much development. At first, I didn’t realize why there were so many trucks, warehouses and huge equipment. Then it became obvious. It’s because of oil. Fracking to be more precise. Turns out that ND is the second highest oil producer in the US, more than Texas or California. I feel like I just drove into a completely different world, and I don’t like it. The only reason I am in ND is because I met several other campers who said don’t miss this park and go the musical!!

Aside from oil, they have crops and cattle too. The oil drills are sprinkled over the countryside, seamlessly intermingled into the landscape. The drills are not too large, but you can spot them a mile away by the color of the road and the single flame. All the drill sites have red crushed granite roads. I guess that is the way to make sure the oil manufacturing stays off the farmland roads. More cars too, though I wouldn’t call it traffic. Temp is about 83F which is a welcome change. Once we got out of the main town, Williston, it starts looking like farmland again. And, once I moved on to Road 1806, it was scenic and colorful.

Tobacco Gardens was built by the Corps of Engineers. It’s a nice campground, right on the river. There is a tiny beach for swimming and boat access. I got a great sunny spot overlooking the water. My space is huge. Took Sparky swimming, came back and realized I didn't have internet on my PC, but I did on my phone. Called AT&T but they said everything was good on their end, but I could call the manufacturer of the modem. (That’s crazy, me call the modem maker?!) I call the manufacturer, but it’s all automated. I try and reboot with no luck. Will deal with this later. Enjoyed a glass of wine, the sunset and did some catchup calls. Things are good.

Day 2 – I am off to the Badlands…of North Dakota! I was almost too embarrassed to ask the Park Ranger about the name. She said it’s really simple, they call it the Badlands because they were bad to travel thru! The more famous ones are in South Dakota, but I am told these are even more dynamic, because the horizontal lines are so pronounced. It’s just that there’s not that much to do in these parts, so they don’t get as many visitors. Theodore Roosevelt National Park has two parts! Today we go to part 1, the north portion, which is about a 45-minute drive.

From afar, some of the hills look like mini mountains. But when you get closer, you realize that many are in gulches. There are so many nooks and crannies, plus the hills are porous and crumble easily. This goes on for miles. It’s amazing to think Lewis and Clark came this way. What a treacherous route and this goes on for miles.

Every day is a field trip. Today I learn the plains used to be underwater! In the case of the Badlands, the force of the water melting and moving, created these amazing shapes, textures and sediments. Took a lot of pictures. There is a nice scenic one-way drive that is about 15 miles each way. Didn’t really see any wildlife on this route, but I am told the south park will have a lot of that.

I take a different, longer route back. There is so much fracking here, and the truck traffic is very noticeable. It's stressful too because these trucks go fast, and they want you to go faster. Got a thunder-storm alert within 24 hours. I decided to hitch-up tonight to be safe, we are moving to the South Park tomorrow.