I wasn’t sure I wanted to spend much time here when I made my route from Minnesota to Colorado last Spring, but figured I would check it out since it was, after all, a National Park. It’s rare that a place makes me speechless. Turns out Theodore Roosevelt National Park is one of those places. From Painted Canyon (below) to the grasslands and badlands, this turned out to be a magical place for me.
North Dakota: Highway 85
When I was driving to Quebec to pick up my Alto trailer in 2016, I went across North Dakota from west to east on Highway 2. This time, I went north to south on Highway 85, taking pictures as I went and enjoying the scenery along the way.
Finding the Center
No, this isn’t one of those touchy-feeling posts about finding MY center. This is all about finding the geographic center of North America and of the USA. And that’s not as cut and dried as you might think. Well, the geographic center of North America actually is. No one is arguing that it’s in Rugby, North Dakota, a place I visited in 2016 on my way to pick up my Alto trailer in Quebec.
High Line Bridge, North Dakota
Coming into Valley City, North Dakota from the north, I passed under this amazing railroad bridge. On the way back out of town after a stop for gas and a little breakfast, I pulled over and investigated the bridge with my camera. And then I hit up the internet to learn more…
North Dakota Back Roads
Avoiding the interstate highways and taking the back roads is easy in North Dakota because most of the roads are back roads. Long straight stretches of two-lane highways go north/south and east/west, with occasional rolling hills to break up the monotony. Not much traffic out here, and not many towns either. But if you pay attention, over the hours, a portrait of the state emerges as the miles go by.