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Day 13: Prairie grasslands of the Dakotas

 A long drive today from Spearfish, South Dakota to Bismarck, North Dakota. Most of the drive was through undivided state highways surrounded by prairie grasslands. This little church on the prairie looked interesting and is emblematic of the scenery around me.

There were many fields full of sunflowers that looked pretty and captured my attention.

 

 

The highlight destination for today was Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. There are no Tesla superchargers around it, so I had to take a 50 mile detour to get a full charge before going to the park. Finally reached there late afternoon, very tired, so the first thing I did was park my car at a vista point and took a 1/2 hour nap. 

The park is interesting, but not outstanding. It is similar to the Badlands National Park, but not as majestic, and with more greenery. It is an appropriate tribute to name a national park after Roosevelt, who led the way in creating lots of national parks.  I did get to see many bison and prairie dogs in the wild.

 



After spending a few hours at the park, it was a long drive to my AirBnb in Bismarck. Very nice house in a peaceful neighborhood with super friendly host.  I lost an extra hour because of the timezone change in the middle of North Dakota that I had not accounted for.

The raw numbers for the day:

  • 428 miles driving, 4900 steps walking
  • 3 Tesla supercharger stops
  • 2 states - South Dakota, North Dakota

 Next:  Day 14: Enjoyed with Friends in Minnesota (Sept 17, 2022)

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