The past few days have been simply marvelous! What did I do, you ask? Not much. That’s not entirely fair to say…because I have actually been productive and active. But it’s been so chill and relaxing that it doesn’t feel like I did anything at all.
When I first arrived in Medora, on the South side of the South Unit of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park, I headed straight to the big show. I had already bought tickets online because everyone, absolutely everyone who knew where I was headed, said it was a MUST do.
I also treated myself to the Cowboy Fondue dinner next door, which is a pretty touristy gimmicky thing where you get camp food and a steak cooked on a stick over open flame. My steak was barely edible. Dry, overcooked, and chewy, I kind of lost interest after a few bites. But the rest was really good – the beans were yummy and I always love a baked potato with fixin’s.
The show was touristy, but great in that touristy kind of way. It was basically a western themed musical about Theodore Roosevelt and the town of Medora. Midway through, there was a special act that had less than nothing to do with the musical – a trained dog show. Honestly, the dog show was the best part. That, and the end when three men came down a mountain on horseback in the dark. Overall, it was a nice way to spend my evening.
The next day, I spent the morning writing. I worked on both the blog and my book while watching an even more spectacular show than the one the night before! The campground was overrun with grasshoppers. I have never seen so many. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of grasshoppers springing up everywhere you look!
But the show is put on by the Robins. Oh, my god, I could watch this all day. The Robins run through the grass all fast footed and rustle up the hoppers. When the Robin moves, it’s like a lawn sprinkler goes off, except the “spray” is not droplets of water but jumping grasshoppers. The Robins run through the grass and the hoppy sprinkler goes off as the Robin tries (successfully) to catch them. Sometimes the Robin holds one down with it’s foot and sometimes it just snatches it out of midair. Often, the Robin collects multiple grasshoppers in its beak until the damn thing is literally overflowing with grasshoppers. At that point there’s legs and antennae sticking out in every direction. Oh, god. I got a lot of joy out of watching this every single day, all day.
And these birds are no dummies! They have also figured out that the asphalt has freshly smashed hoppers whenever a car pulls through. I shit you not. Every time a car passes, the Robins come behind the car and pick through their selections on the road. Then they completely ignore the road until the next car comes through. Gosh, they don’t even have to work for it at that point, just peck and eat.
Other than the Robin show, I’ve had a nice few days. I’ve done some hiking in the park, some shopping in the touristy town of Medora, and lots of writing (my book) while watching the Robin antics. I stayed here a few extra days because I read an article predicting the Aurora Borealis would be visible on the 13th. But, alas, a newer article says that was based on false data. Damn, I was really hoping to see that.
They say everything’s big in Texas…but damn North Dakota has Texas beat! The first picture is a failed hike where the map called this a “creek crossing”. Really? You call THAT a CREEK??? The second picture is of a cider on tap I got at lunch after my day in the park. The waitress asked if I wanted a short or a tall…and I felt like having a nice beverage. So…I unfortunately said tall. I had NO idea. Needless to say, I barely drank half of that!
Oh, I almost forgot to tell you about the rainbows! So, with this many grasshoppers everywhere, you can guess that keeping the little buggers out of the van has been a challenge at times. Every night I have at least one grasshopper on my bed just sitting there. I gently shoo them outside whenever I find them. I’m pretty sure I will be finding them in the van for months!
Anyway, we have also had some spectacular thunderstorms. Big flashy shows with dramatic lightning and rolling thunder accompanied by strong winds and deluges of rain. Mostly, these happen in the evening or in the night.
Tonight, just before sunset, a fast storm rolled in and rolled right back out. I closed up the van and began making dinner, but I kept finding grasshoppers. The first time, I opened up the back doors to shoo them out and saw the most magnificent rainbow coming down to touch the top of a mountain nearby. Wow. A few minutes later, I found another grasshopper and opened the doors again to shoo him out. What do you know but I now see a double rainbow!! If not for shooing the hoppers out of the van, I would not have seen them.
Tomorrow, I head South and dip back into the edge of Wyoming to see the Devil’s Tower again.