The Great American Road Trip. Day 17. Campfire Lodge Resort.

Svenhard's breakfast bear claws bring me back to my childhood, when they were not $7 an 8 pack.  I swear they used to be less than $3 or my parents would not have bought them.

Anyway, they are delicious.  Still.

It is coffee and planning time!

Eric reminded me that it is 4th of July weekend, so campgrounds may be full.  The idea of driving around aimlessly, hoping for a campsite was not appealing so I used the AllStays app to find a campsite in the Gallatin National Forest (an area Raya recommended).  Campfire Lodge Resort has showers and hookups, which we definitely wanted for a three day stint.

We called and they had a spot available for us.  

From Big Timber it is less than a three hour drive to Campfire Lodge Resort.  One of the attractions to this area is that it means we can visit Yellowstone National Park.  Although we were planning on passing through I wasn't thinking we would go into the park since it is one of the most visited National Parks in the country, but the idea of getting our baby's 4th National Park Passport stamp was too strong.

When we checked in at the office/fly shop I asked if we would be the only people there NOT fly fishing.

One person said 'yes' while someone else simultaneously said 'no'.  I take that as a yes...

Stackable cups are a great travel toy.  She absolutely loves them, and they are compact.

Cheers!

We were happy with our campsite but after setting up and walking around we found a campsite on the river that was available, so we will move over there tomorrow.

The Madison River flows from Hebgen Dam.

Whenever I was up during the night I couldn't help but think about what would happen if there was an earthquake and the dam failed.  It wouldn't be the first time people camping below were awaken by an earthquake, but more on that tomorrow...

The Great American Road Trip. Day 16. ND-MT.

Bye bye amazing $6 campground!

Hello Montana!

Today is just a day of smearing bugs onto the grill.

Here we are crossing over the Yellowstone River, the longest undammed river in the United States.

We decided to stay at the KOA in Big Timber/ Greycliff today since they have laundry facilitates on site, and because choices are limited.  Lastly we stopped because we don't know exactly what we are doing over the next few days before arriving in Idaho.  I need a little planning time.

Dinner is bagged salad, shaken in the bag, and grilled cheese.  Simple and delicious. 

After being strapped to the car it is time to get out all our baby energy.

The Great American Road Trip. Day 15. Theodore Roosevelt National Park, ND.

Baby on board!

There are no hookups at Buffalo Gap Campground so were able to test how long our Scamp battery lasts for.  The answer is two days (which is the duration of our stay here).  Even though the furnace is propane it needs the battery to ignite, and the baby needs the furnace to keep her toasty (and sleeping).  We are planning on investing in a solar battery so we have more options.  We cannot run the AC at all on the battery.  The fridge can be run on battery, propane or electric, so we have no issues with keeping our food cold.  

We detached the Scamp so we could more comfortably drive to nearby Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  The trailer is small but it is easier not to pull it if we don't have to.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park was established in 1947, and is the only US National Park named after a single person.

It is located in the Badlands of North Dakota because this is where Roosevelt came to hunt bison in 1883, and where he later returned to do soul searching after loosing his mother and wife (on the same day, from different ailments).  Roosevelt said that it was his experiences in the Dakotas which shaped his conservation efforts and the reason he worked to create the US Forest Service, eight National Monuments, 150 National Forests and five National Parks.

For those who don't know, Theodore Roosevelt was kind of a badass.

We toured Roosevelt's cabin, which is located at the visitor's center.  It was originally located seven miles away but toured around the country as a tourist attraction during his pre-presidency, then later returned and rebuilt, board by board.

You can see his initials on his fancy duck skin trunk.

Wild, wild horses... 𝆕

Ranchers used to try to exterminate feral horses but they became protected animals in 1971.

Horses have rights too!

Peaceful Valley Ranch is the only original house remaining in the southern part of the park.

This is Prairie Dog Town.

There are numerous within the park, and all over the state for that matter.

Prairie dogs are super fun to watch, and listen to.

I would like to direct your attention to the upper right hand corner.  You will see a coyote that I didn't even know was there until I saw it on the computer!  What are the chances?  Well, I do take a lot of pictures so maybe it was bound to happen.

This rock has hoodoo aspirations. 

A section of the road which completes the 36 mile scenic loop was closed due to road damage, but we were able to see most of the drive, it was just an out and back instead.

This little baby is fascinated by rock layers.

This prairie is one of the last remaining untilled prairie's in the United Stated.

The Badlands got their name from Native American's, whose name for the area translated to 'bad lands', because it is a difficult place to travel.

It is beautiful to visit now, but the countless canyons and hills made it a harsh place to live.

The last thing we had planned for today was to go one more exit east, to the visitor center and view point of the Painted Canyons.  The lighting wasn't quite right to pick up all of the colors of the Painted Canyons, but we saw two bison and it was still a very pretty view.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park was not on our radar before this trip but what a cool little park to visit.  And why not now, since we have no idea when the next time we will be driving through the Dakotas.

The Great American Road Trip. Day 14. Buffalo Gap Campground, ND.

30% chance of rain means something different in North Dakota than it means in Southern California, because it did in fact rain, all morning.  We waited it out, for the most part, but the screen room and tarp had to be put away wet.  Whoops. 

Love it here.

Brewer Lake has been fun, but we can't stay here forever, so off we go.

We pulled over at a rest stop to make and eat lunch.  It is so cool having a travel trailer!

Initially we considered an A-frame.  Just for a second.  Eric would have been able to stand in it, but it would not be as functional.  We wouldn't be setting it up for a quick bite.

There is a hot shot crop duster in the background of this picture.  I wished I would have got the better picture, of him flying right over the freeway, almost tapping his wing on the asphalt.  It was insane.  I know we are in North Dakota, but there is no way that is legal.

It was a long day in the car, and we came close to pulling over to sleep at the rest stop at Painted Canyon, just two exits before the exit we were looking for, but we decided to keep going, to Buffalo Gap Campground.  

Once again, I found this campground on the AllStays app.  The price is listed as just one dollar sign, which in this case meant $6.  

Six dollars!  

So for $6 we got this campsite with no neighbors and a hot shower.  I know I said this yesterday about Brewer Campground, but you REALLY can't beat that!

After talking with the camp host, and taking a look around, we decided to stay for two nights, and check out Theodore Roosevelt National Park, just a few miles away.  It is nice to be able to make a change to the itinerary right quick.  It just keeps getting better with our Scamp!