On to Theodore Roosevelt National Park and Cottonwood Campground, Medora, ND

After leaving Beaver Creek Recreation Area near Linton, we spent one night at Sweet Briar Recreation Area by New Salem. We usually stay here at least one night when we’re in North Dakota; it’s generally quiet and peaceful.

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On Sunday we met my dad, brother & sister-in-law, and nephew’s family for lunch at Pizza Ranch. It’s one of my dad’s favorite places and he would go there twice a week when he was still home and able to drive. Now at the retirement home, he doesn’t get out much. One reason we tried for our new camp host job is that it’s closer to Dickinson and I’ll be able to visit him on our days off hopefully.

                     

There are two campgrounds in Theodore Roosevelt National Park; Cottonwood in the South Unit and Juniper in the North Unit. We started at Cottonwood as camp hosts on Sunday. We update the daily roster, assist campers in finding a spot, answering questions, etc. No real physical work, but we have been busy all day. There’s a lot of paperwork involved. The park has filled up every day about 3:00, and there’s people trying to find a place to stay until 10:00 at night! A lot of people drive through the park and campground and we answer lots of questions. We drove in to Medora yesterday (it’s 5 miles from the campground) to familiarize ourselves again with the town and find out what’s changed since we’ve been here last. Then we drove the 36 mile Scenic Loop Drive and saw bison, wild horses and prairie dogs. Most people ask where to see the animals and they’re usually on this loop road.

                                         

On Monday for the solar eclipse, we had about 85% coverage here. One of the rangers gave us a pair of the solar eclipse glasses; it was interesting to watch. We tried to take a picture through a small hole on to paper, and also took a picture of the sun through some leaves that left a crescent look on the pavement. They had a special event at the Visitor Center.
                                 

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