Category: Northbound

Our first leg of the trip, Colorado Springs to the Arctic Ocean

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20250621 – Pioneer Museum and Fort Union Trading Post, ND

I started the day off with a long walk with the dogs. I had planned to get up early and hike a trail but I managed to sleep until 7. We had a long days drive today into and across Montana and we needed to get going. Yesterday’s post noted bison and turkeys, and that was the first two hours of the morning. I’ll pick up from there.

Leaving Theodore Roosevelt NP we headed east and then north. There are tons of oil fields up here and the place is booming. The road (85) actually is a 4-lane divided highway, which made the travel quick. And then I saw a sign …. Lewis and Clark Museum.

This museum in Alexander, ND is named Lewis and Clark Museum, but is really a pioneer museum of the area and celebrates all the families that settled and built in this land. The first piece was a log cabin that one family with 8 boys lived in. It was decorated with some early 1900’s frontier artifacts. The main museum is the old 3-story schoolhouse. They have a little bit of everything in there, from frontiersmen and trappers coats made from buffalo, beaver, horse, or any other animal hide, to a history of electricity and radios coming to the area. The museum was built and funded by families in the area who paid for shadowboxes where they could display family photos, heirlooms, Knick Knacks, etc.

The next building housed a history of farm equipment from the area in this massive barn. There were even a couple of Ford model T’s and an International Truck. We spent two hours there, the last portion being in the gift and coffee shop where we met Cathy.

Cathy grew up here and told us stories of her grandfather and grandmother who settled here in 1902, where he first built a small shack on their property. Her grandmother told him to wait on building the house and get the barn completed because that would make them money. Cathy said the barn still is used and maintained on the property. We’ve seen quite a few exhibits and museums, and this one is the best so far. And Cathy also said the town has a hamburger fry in the park every summer Saturday, if we wanted to attend. It’s been going on for the past 70 years. Small town America is such a special thing.

We walked the pups and then got back on the road. Another hour up was the famous Fort Union Trading Post. The actual post was destroyed by the army after it was purchased by the Government and then abandoned for Fort Buford down the river, but this reconstruction is beautiful and gives a good sense of the fort at the time. During its 50 years it was a major trading post for the American fur Company where Indians and trappers and settlers could trade goods from around the world.

The rest of the day was driving down I-95 and then to our campsite, which we found on iOverlander, and turned out to be perfect spot at a fishing access point on the Bighorn River. It started sprinkling and then the thunder and lightning and downpour came. One of my happy places…rain on the roof while camping. Tomorrow we have another big day to get to Yellowstone. I managed to get two nights there in a campground; it’s a tent site, but with parking, so the TC will be great.

Here are some additional photos for the day.
https://www.overlandadventureexcursions.com/photos-albums/nggallery/album/20250621-fort-union-trading-post-and-pioneer-museum

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20250620 – Theodore Roosevelt National Park

We left Stanton, ND about 10:30 am and headed west towards the next stop. I had spoken to my dad the night before and he noted that my grandfather was born in Killdeer, ND, which we would be passing through. About a half hour later we stopped there for fuel and some quick groceries. We looked on the OnX map tool for and properties owned by Dullum’s but couldn’t find any. We stopped by the community center and chatted with the folks in there, asking where to get postcards, but it seems Killdeer is not a postcard place. Oh well. One of the guys in the community center used to live in Buckeye, AZ so we joked about the weather.

We meandered on down the road and got to the park around 1:30. The park has a Northern and a Southern section and we planned for the northern. The visitors center was small but effective and we decided to find a place to have lunch.

The picnic area was occupied by a big group of kids so we proceeded into the campground. There were tons of spots opened and we decided to call it a day and set up camp. I had looked at iOverlander and did not see lots of camping spots at the next stop, about an hour down the road, and the campground was nice.

the next morning we got up, packed, and took the scenic drive through the park. It was not only filled with spectacular views, but we were able to see some bison and turkeys running around. Definitely a great way to start the day. We only managed 120 miles getting here, but it was beautiful.

here are some additional photos. https://www.overlandadventureexcursions.com/photos-albums/nggallery/album/20250620-theodore-roosevelt-np

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20250619 – Shadehill Reservoir to Knife River Indian Villages

Kathy and I were talking with the nice lady last night and she is originally from Thatcher, AZ and her husband is from Marana. They live now in a small town in South Dakota after moving to/from Nebraska. Small world

I got up early and took the pups for a long walk. It was almost 2 miles around the campground. There are tons of sites at this place. And it is well manicured and beautiful. The pups got to walk in the lake, even Zuzu. It’s funny how Oscar has changed since first moving to CO. He hated getting his feet wet. I guess AZ changed that. lol. It turns out this lake is where the trapper, Hugh Glass, was attacked by a bear and left for dead but crawled 200 miles to get help. Leonardo Decaprio played the part in The Remanent.

The campground had showers so we cleaned up and continued to head north. Jessica also mentioned there was an enchanted highway along our path, so we kept our eyes peeled. The sculptures were hard to miss. I’ve posted them in the photo gallery.

There are three national parks/monuments in North Dakota so we are off to see some on the remnants of Indian Villages that Lewis and Clark met and traded goods. This path we are on for a bit is part of the Lewis and Clark trail. I have always been in awe of that expedition and what they accomplished for this country.

The replica of the lodges used was really cool. We only had 15 minutes to visit since we crossed a time zone and we were late arriving. The rangers were awesome and provided suggestions for camping.

We stayed in Stanton at the city park/campground. Again, power for AC and DEET for the mosquitos. The place was quiet and we slept well. If. And we crossed into North Dakota with a 215 mile drive today.

here are some photos of the day.

https://www.overlandadventureexcursions.com/photos-albums/nggallery/album/20250619-knife-river-indian-villages

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20250618 – Minuteman Museum and the drive north

I started out the day helping Riley with some yard maintenance; mowing the lawn, edging the front sidewalks, and raking the leaves. We ended up filling his garbage bin with yard waste. Kathy packed up the truck, I took a quick shower, and we headed off to find some Bagels. There are two Einstein Bagel places in Tapid City but one was closed for the summer and the other was closed due to lack of staff. We gave up and headed to Riley and Lizzy’s place. She had a cool little place that is constructed for gardening and small farm animals. Thy have planted a huge number of crops in the containers and boxes around the home. They even have 6 chickens. It’s a really cool place and this will be their first full summer with the gardens.

Since we didn’t get breakfast, we had lunch with them at a local Irish restaurant. Another great visit and good food. We said our goodbyes and headed out of town toward the minuteman middle monument. It is about 1 hour east of Rapid City, just past Ellsworth AFB and we were amazed at how many missiles the world still has. A different time than when our parents grew up.

We turned Howie northward and spent the next 3 hours crossing the vast grasslands of central and eastern South Dakota. We did pass the 45th parallel are are officially halfway between the equator and the top of the earth. Again, the lack of public lands makes it hard to find camping so we drove until about 7PM and got a rather expensive spot at a Shadehill State park, which charges out of staters more for the same campsite. It’s beautiful, and a nice lady helped us reserve a spot with her app. $40 for the night, although it does have an electrical hookup and showers.

Chicken and rice for dinner and we finally settled down about 11:30.

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20250617 – Badlands NP and Rapid City, SD

The night was cool and a nice thunderstorm rolled through about midnight. The Trick Camper rocked around a bit but the wind map only showed 10-20mph gusts. It felt like more, but nothing to worry about.

We had a shorter drive today ( 165 miles by the end of the day) that started first with a scenic drive through Badlands National Park. We stopped by the visitors center to look at the exhibits and grab stamps and postcards. Just after the visitors center we stopped for a photo of the view and Kathy spotted a momma deer and her baby. We watched the doe and fawn and they wandered around the edge of a bluff. Last night the coyotes were howling pretty good so I’m sure the doe was glad for the peaceful morning.

The drive took us through the Badlands and again Kathy spotted wildlife, our first buffalo sighting. A lone beast sitting in one of the canyons. Further up, and upon just exiting the park, a small herd posed alongside the road.

Our Friends in Greeley noted that we should stop by Wall Drug, in Wall SD, so we did just that. The business had been consistently open for 90+ years and is a sight to see. It takes up a whole city block and contains a cafe with 5 cent coffee, trinkets, a chapel, a historic pharmacy, and just about everything else. We putted around for about an hour, walked the pups, and then headed into Rapid City to meet my son, Riley and his girlfriend Lizzy for lunch.

Lunch was ended by a thunderstorm so we ran some errands, mailed packages, fueled up, and headed towards Mt. Rushmore to complete a long quest Kathy had at Horsethief reservoir. We stopped in Keystone, a small western mountain town and walked in the cool rain and browsed the shops and displays. It’s interesting how just 20 minutes from Rapid City the Black Hills are cool with an alpine feel at only 4600 feet. I’ve always liked this area. We headed back down to the city and finished the night parked at my son’s house.

here are some photos for the day.
https://www.overlandadventureexcursions.com/photos-albums/nggallery/album/20250617-badlands-np

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20250616 – CO, WY, NE, SD

Today was a pretty long drive. The tracker said 331 miles and 8:28 hours. It was long, but finding camping in this part of the country is difficult. No BLM or forest service land, plus an Indian Reservation. We ended up at a pay campground just outside of Badlands NP around 8 PM.

We left Greeley, CO a bit late (11AM) and headed north. We first crossed into Wyoming south of Cheyenne, and then headed northeastward into Nebraska. We made it to Scott’s Bluff National Monument around 1:30 and took in the sites. It was 87 degrees and hot out for the pups. There was a drive to the top of the bluff but there was a limit of 11ft 7in for vehicles. I pulled out the tape measure and measured 11’ 5” for the truck. Two inches to spare. The sides were only 10’4” with the AC adding about 12”. Needless to say we took the drive.

After leaving the monument we managed to find the grave of Rebecca Winters, a Mormon settler that caught cholera and was buried along the trail. Her burial was unique in that someone scribed her name and tribute on a wagon wheel iron tread and left it with her. Most were buried in the road with little memorial.

After Scott’s Bluff we continued north and east until we needed to stop for diesel. Diesel was found in Alliance, NE, and just after filling up we ran across a roadside attraction called Carhenge. Apparently a gentleman named Jim Reinders has some time on his hands and a few spare junk cars and he recreated Stonehenge with cars on a hill in Nebraska. It was an interesting find and a tribute to people with time and creativity in their toolboxes.

We continued northward and east a bit and tried to find a place to camp. Unfortunately in this part of the country all land is private, a sad state, and we could not find a pullout to camp. We crossed into the Lakota Sioux reservation and drove another hour into South Dakota and took the Badlands. We did get to see the Battle of Wounded Knee memorial site along the way.

It was a long day of driving through miles and miles of beautiful green grasslands (and happy cows). Tomorrow will be a visit to the Badlands NP and then on to visit Riley in Rapid City.

here is a link to some more photos.
https://www.overlandadventureexcursions.com/photos-albums/nggallery/album/20250616-scotts-bluff-np-to-badlands

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20250614-15 – Visiting Friends

Saturday morning we headed north on I-25 to visit some of or super cool friends Benjamin and Karrie. On the way there I found out that Buc-ee’s has a stop along the 25 just south of Loveland. Kathy has not been, so I had to stop. Buc-eee’s is an experience (thanks Carl).

Benjamin and Karrie had a quick change of plans as their daughter was getting a proposal and Trey invited us to the winery to help celebrate. Congrats to the newly engaged couple, Jayden and Kaylei. Ben and Karrie are two of my oldest friends. I met Benjamin in 4th or 5th grade and we’ve been friends ever since. I was even his best man at their wedding and I still think they are two of the greatest people I know. They raised three great kids and it’s really neat to see how the family is so close and hangs out together, laughs together, parties together. They opened their home and let us stay a couple of nights. Even on Sunday, Father’s Day, they included us with their kids for NASCAR and a burger grill. Love them tons.

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20250612-13 – Moab, Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP

We hung out at the Sun Outdoors RV park on the 12th, soaked in the pool, and went downtown and browsed through the Moab shops. Some cool stuff and after a couple of hours we were thirsty so we found a restaurant called the Spoke, and we enjoyed some beverages, a burger and a sandwich. The rest of the day we sat under the shade canopy, read some books and finished the evening with a little television.

The next day we packed up camp and drove across Utah and down the scenic drive through Montrose, Gunnison, Monarch Pass,, and then across the high valley into Woodland Park and down to Colorado Springs.

We stopped at a couple of National Parks along the way including the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and Curecanti National Recreation Area (Blue Mesa Reservoir).

We met Peyton for dinner at The Edelweiss, a German restaurant, and had a great reunion. Peyton is making and selling handmade soap and us works wonderfully and smells great so we added a couple of bars to our shower kits.

we did our first parking lot camp night at the Bass Pro Shop in Colorado Springs. Somewhat quiet other than the dance club to the south. We slept well.

here are some photos along the way. https://www.overlandadventureexcursions.com/photos-albums/nggallery/album/20250612-13-drive-to-cos

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20250611 – Canyonlands and Arches NPs

We dismounted the camper for the couple days while we’re here. There’s a power hook up so we can turn the air conditioner on and leave the pups here. Remember that the national parks are not pet friendly, so there’s really no allowing them off of pavement or concrete, and at 95 to 100° here that gets too hot for the dogs. The campground is nice and shaded, though, and they sleep most of the day anyway.

Kathy and I went to Canyonlands first thing in the morning. This is one of my favorite parks, if not my favorite park. It’s not necessarily from the Mesa where the tourists drive, but it’s because of the White Rim Trail that traverse is down to where the Colorado and the Green rivers nearly converge. That is one of the best camping/overlanding routes. I’ve done it three times, and although we’re not taking Howie down there, it still is a wonderful place to visit. This is actually the first time that I made it up onto the Mesa and drove all the roads and looked at all the vistas.

The way national parks are now you have to have a reservation order to drive in, and Arches National Park is no different. I got on the website when we arrived here and the only times that were available were afternoon times on any of the three days that were here. So I paid the two dollars reserved at 3 PM slot for today. You can enter the park before 7 AM, or after 6 PM without an You can enter the park before 7 AM, or after 6 PM without a reservation, beginning, moving out early in the morning is its own feat. After coming back from Canyonlands, we had a nice nap, some lunch, and then headed up to Arches.

Arches National Park is one of those kind of surreal places with a very dynamic landscape. It’s a great place for hiking, especially if you’re here in the spring or fall or if you’re out early in the morning. It’s also a great place for stargazing and night hikes. While we were there at 3:30 in the afternoon, and it was about 95°, we did a little hiking, but mainly spent the time driving. There are a couple of roads in Arches National Park that require four-wheel-drive and display some additional places in the park. We took one of those roads, turned at the “beware four-wheel-drive road”, and proceeded up a fairly technical, 4/10 type of trail. Now I’m not in my FJ cruiser, but rather this 3500 Ram 1-ton truck, so I’m still getting used to four wheeling this thing. It did exceptionally well. They’re only a couple of spots that I had to get out and look for a line, and I only scraped the tail pipe once. I did have to remove the camper tie-downs because they stuck out just a little too far.

Overall the drive took us to Whales eye arch as well as near tower arch, where we saw the marching men. It was about a 2 1/2 hour side trip, but we did get a little hiking and had some fun.

Here is a photo album for today.

https://www.overlandadventureexcursions.com/photos-albums/nggallery/album/20250611-arches-and-canyonlands-nps

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20250610 – Capitol Reef to Moab

We got off around 9 am from a little Forest Service corner plot off of Highway 24 where we spent the night. We were a few miles from the Capitol reef park HQ so we got in as it started to get busy. It turned out the visitors center parking lot was being paved as was the scenic drive past the Grand Wash. So we stopped at the picnic area where the temporary Ranger station was set up, got a few maps got a few stamp, and then proceeded over to the historic cabin, where they sell, pies, jams, etc.

We continue up the road to the ground wash and took the side road to the Hiking trail for the narrows. It was a little warm for the pups so Sean took the trail up to the narrows to get some photos. The hike turned out to be around 3 1/2 miles. There are some beautiful canyon scenes and tons of hikers.

We headed back towards the park entrance, stopped to see some petroglyphs, and continued on to Moab. We have made reservations in a campground in Moab so we could drop the camper and do a few of the roads around the area. The drive along Highway 24 was beautiful. There is a desolate desert, split up by the Fremont River Valley that is green with fields and Cottonwood trees, and then as you cross this area called goblin Valley is a bunch of random hoodoos just sticking up out of the sand. And the geology in the area is absolutely fascinating. We stopped in Green River for some fairly expensive fuel, and then headed to the campground in Moab.

The campground has some great facilities and we’ve met some nice people. We even jumped into the pool for a short time. Just around the corner is a grocery store and we stopped in for some supplies.

One one of the difficult things for me with national parks, is there just too many people. It’s beautiful seeing these areas but summertime is always a challenge. I checked the arches national Park website, because usually they have a queue to get in. It turns out now you have to have reservations. Even to drive in. So I look for tomorrow the next day and Friday morning, so if we went up there, we could do it in the cool air. But there was nothing except afternoon slots. And it cost two dollars to reserve a slot. I reserve the first one for Wednesday, and we’re just gonna go to canyonlands during the day.

here is a link to today’s photos. https://www.overlandadventureexcursions.com/photos-albums/nggallery/album/20250610-capitol-reef