Baby Rattlesnakes in TRNP

I heard a whirring, rattling sound and looked down. Three feet away was a nest of baby rattlesnakes.

One slipped into his hole but the other two posed for me. We were at Oxbow Overlook in the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

When Bob and I set of this morning out of Watford City we marveled at the large, red sun coming up over the horizon. Even after starting off on the wrong road, we still arrived nice and early and only saw two other cars on our drive. The road through the park at the North Unit is not a loop like at South Unit, so we got to see the sights twice and in differing morning light.

We were not disappointed. The views were magnificent.

Auggie stayed in the car while we stopped to walk along short trails to the overlooks (and after the snake incident, we were very glad we had not brought him with us!) He waited patiently for us to return, and enjoyed sniffing out bison.

Auggie was such a good rider in the car. Not a single bark at the many bison we passed.

We told him that very few dogs from Philadelphia ever get to see a bison, and he was suitably impressed. Of course, he was probably the only Schnorkle that this buffalo had ever seen, too!

The photo above shows "Cannonball Concretions," unusual geological formations shaped like balls formed within rocks by the deposition of mineral around a core.

The North Unit of TRNP feels wilder and more isolated than the South Unit. I'm glad we got the chance to see them both.