Thursday, August 9, 2018, Even more Bison!

We headed back into Roosevelt National Park today in search of more wildlife. Behind the Park's Visitor Center is the Maltese Cross cabin where Teddy Roosevelt stayed when he visited the area in the 1880's before he had his own Elkhorn Ranch built.

I noticed the rock formation below and decided it looked a little like a prairie dog (or maybe a turtle or maybe I had too much time to think about it while we waited on the construction traffic.) I'm pretty sure I can see this fat little doggie smiling.

Near the start of the loop drive, the Peaceful Valley Ranch house remains from a time not too long ago when a few hardy souls tried to make a living in the remote and rugged land where drought and blizzards could easily wipe out an entire herd in a season. Since the park was established in 1947 the area now only supports wild herds of bison, elk, horses, deer, pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep and, of course, prairie dogs.

One of the few times we left the car was for the Wind Canyon Trail. A short hike (0.4 miles) atop a cliff edge above the Little Missouri River, it offered beautiful panoramic views of the North Dakota badlands.

From the river overlook, we could hear the bison from several miles away. They sounded much closer than they actually were. I could just barely capture them with the maximum telephoto setting.

The male bison often preferred solitude over the herd. We saw several along the drive that were just enjoying the peace and quiet except for the occasional gawking tourists.

I think this guy was a natural performer putting on a little show for us.

The guy below was conserving his energy so the only thing he moved was his tail. It was so quick that it took several shots to actually get it anywhere but on the ground. Of course, in a still shot, it just looks like he had a curly tail.  

We had one bison who ambled alongside the road before deciding to actually walk on the pavement. When I looked in the mirror I knew I had to have this shot.

Another bison right at the edge of the roadway found a post to use for scratching his tough hide.

We could not get very close to the extremely skittish pronghorn antelope so all of our pictures were from a long distance - I estimated at least a quarter mile. I think we were just lucky to see them at all.

It was deep dusk when we spotted these deer. A slow shutter and a rare moment without moving let us get this shot that made it look much more like midday than nearly dark.

We always enjoy the color of a beautiful sunset to close our visit to any National Park.