Bismarck ND

Eastern Montana and Nirth Dakota are very similar — rolling and dry except where irrigated. We saw a few oil pumps and passed the exit for the Theodore Roosevelt NP with out stopping. We have stopped to visit this interesting park twice in the past and didn’t want to take the time today. But the Painted Canyon and a drive through to see the wild horses is well-worth the time, swallows have built nests under the underpasses —40 to 50 nests under some. The underpass is one of the few structures. There are many fields of rape (for Canola oil) and many of the roadsides are filled with the yellow flowers.

We had hoped to make it all the way across North Dakota today, but some ominous weather reports made us stop in Bismarck. The wind had been picking up all day, when we stopped for fuel, propane, DEF and a dump at the Flying J just west of Bismarck some truck drivers reported to us about the coming bad weather — 70-mph winds are forecast along with heavy rain and hail.

Hence we decided to spend the night sheltered next to a Walmart. In 2019 we weathered a hurricane in Nova Scotia sheltered next to a Walmart. Hope it works as well here as it did there.

-- Janet (text) and David (photos)