I've never had any reason to visit North Dakota but I wish I would have bought real estate here about 4 years ago. A local of Medora just told me they sold a house for $75,000 four years ago that now sells for over $200,000! North Dakota is having an oil boom at the moment. I'm still looking for a crystal ball.
Yesterday was a full day. I left Denver at 7am and headed straight north up through Wyoming and into the Black Hills of South Dakota. I was one of just a few cars in the Black Hills as it's Sturgis Biker week. It's the largest motorcycle rally/party in the world that revolves around the legendary American motorcycle, Harley Davidson. I passed through the hills skirting around Sturgis within in a crowd of chrome, leather, and people who love the sun but detest sunscreen. There also appeared to be a mass aversion to wearing a helmet. The roads in and around the Black Hills are awesome for the motorcycle enthusiasts and the entire region is full on geared up for it with “Bikers Welcome” signs all over the place.
With a little bit of biker culture and the Black Hills behind me I kept heading north to what I'll refer to as #49. North Dakota is the 49th state for me to visit. Aside of wanting to tag another state I figured I might as well make it worthwhile by hiking up to the highest point and visiting a National Park.
By 4pm I was rolling through Bowman just south of “White Butte”, the highest point in North Dakota. Twenty five miles north then a right for five miles of dusty gravel road. Another right to an abandoned farmhouse and a make shift sign announcing “Road Closed”, the start for the 1.5 mile hike up to the butte. Also in place was a large loosely attached mail box hawking donations to keep access to “White Butte” open. A beer fund for whoever owns the land I suppose. Although the high points resides on private property the owners don't have a problem with people climbing it. Overall, visits are fairly minimal.
White Butte is a cluster of badland hills surrounded by farmland. The area around the butte is decorated with trees, perennial creeks, and small canyons. It was probably an ideal place at one time for Indians but now it favors rattlesnakes. Especially in the summer. Around 5pm I changed into a pair of jeans, leather boots, and dug out a couple of hiking sticks. I then began a foot stompin walk up and old rutted farm road towards the butte. Rattlesnakes are very sensitive to vibration. Slinging hiking sticks and making noise with my boots would more than likely run them off before I even knew they were there.
The hills before me and farmland behind me really were beautiful. The temperature was just starting to fall of its high of 97 degrees and a slight wind was kicking up. The skies were clear and blue. It felt really nice and peaceful to walk after driving all day. After a half mile of old farm road I crossed through a gate and began a straight forward hiking ascent up a hard clay hill to a grassy bench and grove of trees. From there it was just a little further up to a rock pile, survey marker, and metal box with a register. The breeze kicked up a little more so I enjoyed the view for awhile. Old abandoned farmhouse to the north, large hay bales in the distance, white hills to the east, trees and scrub below, a herd of cattle to the northwest, sun falling to the west, and no sign of anyone. My car was hardly noticeable at the far end of the old farm road.
The entire round trip only took about an hour and a half and was completely rattlesnake free. Feeling revived from the days drive I deposited a couple dollars in the mailbox and boarded my dust covered car. I then backtracked to the main highway where I headed to Theodore Roosevelt National Park to camp for the night.
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