National parks are national treasures. Not a news flash. So are state parks, which is generally less recognized. I’ve gotten to 2 national parks—the famous Yellowstone and the barely known Theodore Roosevelt in North Dakota—and one state park, Makoshika, that I doubt anyone outside of Montana has heard of, and I wonder how many Montanans have. (Craters of the Moon, described in the Into Idaho post, is a “national monument” rather than a “national park.” I’m sure there’s a reason; Idk it.)
I could do an entry on each, there’s so much, but I’ll control myself and cluster them here.
For the curious or gluttonous, I’ve put links to Dropbox folders with more pictures and videos than anyone could possibly want to see. Pls let me know if any links are broken.
Trigger finger warning: They’re uncurated and I take lots of pictures and some videos (ok, maybe a lot of those too), many that seem completely redundant, boring, or both. Believe it or not I’ve culled some, but others I just can’t let go of. You’ve been warned.
Yellowstone, along with Yosemite, is probably the most famous and trafficked NP. There’s so much to see, but I was just passing through on the way to Tippet Rise via the Beartooth Highway. (Next posts. Probably.) Still the sights are wonderful, from the iconic bison to other stuff. Check out the vids in the Yellowstone folder online if you want to see buffaloes (bison) roam and streams babble.
Makoshika was a total and wonderful discovery. The name comes from the Lakota phrase mako sica, which means bad or eroded land. Hence this area in eastern Montana is known as the “Badlands,” which extends further east into the Dakotas. I got to Makoshika early evening to check things out (see vids of deer bucks as well as more pix in the folder). I then returned the next day for a half-day visit. A sampling:
Theodore Roosevelt National Park…. another total and wonderful discovery. Two, actually, since there’s a south unit and a north unit, about 60 miles apart. TRNP is also in the Badlands. It honors “the nation's first president to champion conservation.” No matter that he killed hundreds of big game in the US and Africa. His reputation is of a hunter who championed conservation and as “the president who saved the bison.” Both the North and South Units are worth visiting. The northern one is smaller and more rustic, but less crowded. Both have hikes for many tastes and endurance levels.
