Medora - July 3

We can't seem to upload any of the absolutely amazing photos from today. We'll get them up on the internets and the googles tomorrow.

Today has been a great day for everybody. I started the day with my first real mountain bike adventure since injuring my knee two months ago. Rode about 20 miles on the Maah Daah Hey Trail, which runs 100 miles through the ND Badlands. Got to hang out with some cows on the trail. Wanted to go a little further, but a big thunderboomer was predicted and some nasty-looking clouds and wind were starting to come up. Mom just finished and Liz and I are in the midst of reading Deep Survival, and I remembered the point of the book: Those who survive "wilderness accidents" are usually those who avoid them altogether, by being able to adapt, change their plans even when it is disappointing, and turn back long before it is obvious to do so. So remembering these words, I turned back. And it never rained. But it was still an awesome ride. [Note: Special thanks to my sadistic, er, effective PT (that stands for "personal torturer") and Mom's cousin Doug Kulp for getting me back on the bike!]

While I was riding, everybody else went into Teddy Roosevelt National Park, and saw all sorts of cool things, including prairie dogs (which Izzie insists are "Fairy Dogs"), bison, wild horses, and Gabe and Kieran came face to face with a prairie rattler. Yes, that prairie rattler. Everybody went on a great two-mile hike that Izzie did all of by herself. Oh wait, here comes Liz:

I just felt like 4 lines just didn't cut it! The hike was the 2 mile Ridgeline Nature Trail. Izzie really liked the hike and was highly motivated to find the next number post where mom did her bit, reading to us from the trail brochure. There were parts of the trail where it was tempting to pick Izzie up - they didn't name it ridgeline for nothing. Recent rain washed out parts of stairs and had Gabe and Kieran taking it slow. When we completed the loop, having seen many beautiful flowers, the kids bounded down the wooden steps and stopped dead at the bottom. Gabe said, "SNAKE" and Kieran (who apparently hadn't seen it) stopped too. Alex was closest, but his fast footsteps got the snake moving back into the tall grass. Size, shape and coloration lead us to believe a prairie rattlesnake. YIKES!!!

We got back in the car and drove the rest of the loop road around the park. We saw wild horses, including foals with their mothers, and the stallion at lookout. We only saw two buffalo, but one was right out Grandma's window. She got a thrill, as when we drove by he started coming our way head down and tongue out. What a fun time!

We all met up for lunch and naps, then went to the Marquis de Mores ice cream parlor for "dinner", then The World's Greatest Playground for about an hour, then a 5-mile bike ride with the boys while Mom and Dad went back into the park for an evening hike, home for grilled cheese since we were hungry after "dinner", and now the kiddos are in my bed watching the end of Kung Fu Panda.

Tomorrow is Liz and my 11th anniversary, so don't expect too much in the way of blogging.