Inyan-oka-la-ka (Montana) and camping at Devil's Tower (Wyoming)

Left Theodore Roosevelt National Park this morning and started the trip home.  We missed a couple of small campgrounds in Montana so we stopped at Medicine Rock State Park (Montana) then headed towards Devils Tower, Wyoming.  The State Park was actually pretty neat since these rocks rose up out of nowhere.  

 This was one of the campsites in the park.  Would have been neat to stay here had it been closer to home and a bit cooler.

The graffiti was neat but also sad.  Some of it was so old that I thought it'd be cool to come back now and see your family's name (when people didn't know better than to do this) but also sad since there were some more current names (when people should know better.)

This outing turned into a typical husband event.  He kept thinking we could have lunch around the next corner where there would be shade (it was 90 degrees).   Well you can tell what the terrain looked like; mile after mile of this and the sweet clover:

There were no trees, no hills, no shade, no corners (straight as an arrow)!  Matter of fact there were no cars until we had to pull over to go the bathroom!  Go figure... We finally had to settle on an improvised lunch in the car.

We pulled into the Devils Tower Campground in mid afternoon with the temperatures still soaring. We decided to put the tent up and hang out in the shade.  We saved the hiking/exploring for after dinner when it was cooler.

Surprisingly or maybe not so surprisingly (the heat) the campground wasn't full on the 4th of July.  

Our site (B22-had shade and decent views of the Tower):

Let me tell you nothing beats a campfire when it's ninety degrees out!  It was necessary in order to cook our dinner.

The kids were finally up late enough to catch some fireworks.  The KOA down the road put on a pretty good show that we could see right from our campsite!

The next morning the kids weren't in the mood for photographs.  

 I thought these nifty breakfast treats would put them in better spirits but the hubby and I ended up eating all but one of these!

Camping at Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota

Pulled in to Theodore Roosevelt National Park in the afternoon.  Construction was holding up traffic going in and out of the park.  We had to wait 15-20 minutes to get to our campsite.  

We thought we were going to end up with a campsite that had no trees (hence, no shade) but I started checking the tags on the poles and realized the camp host hadn't removed old tags so this site (#17) was still available.  

We had a short walk to get to the Little Missouri River.  The banks were quite muddy however!

We heated up some leftover lasagna.  This was a camping treat that I need to remember to do again.  Sometimes, it's nice to get away from hot dogs and hamburgers.  We do need to check if campsites have fire pits or just grates.  This was the first one we've ever encountered that didn't have a fire pit.  It would have been helpful to have some charcoal along instead of just wood.

Serious marshmallow roasters:

A marshmallow catastrophe!

 Hanging out before an evening of wildlife viewing:

Run: Teddy Roosevelt National Park

Trails Used: Scenic Loop Drive to Jones Creek Trail

Distance:  7.1 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Overall average: 6.4 mph
Overall Time: 1 hr, 06 min
Total Ascent: 196 ft.

Storm rolled out, blue skies rolled in

Hard to believe after the night we had but we woke up to a beautiful morning in the Badlands. 

Well, some of us woke up!

The sweet clover and rocks were just as crazy leaving the park as entering.

Luckily, Q reminded us to get our picture before we left the park.

Fern and Cub Lakes

The morning of Day 2 we headed out for a hike on the Fern Lake Trail.  The cousins know how to enjoy themselves!

We took a couple of photos as we waited for the bus:

The group starting out:

Break time!

Wild Rose:

Ninebark:

Pin Cherry:

Clematis:

Oregon Grape Holly:

Lots of rocks to climb on and through:

Looking up from 'The Pools'.  We headed to Cub Lake at this point since the troops were getting restless and hungry.

Cub Lake Trail.  This is where the Fern Lake Fire was last year (hence the dead trees).

Lots of uphill to a certain point=lots of complaining.

Our two fearless leaders taking a 'mintspiration' break.  (Life Savers)

Charged back up we start heading down towards Cub Lake and lunchtime!

Almost there!

After lunch...playtime

We get it, we get it....enough hiking already!

View looking back towards Cub Lake Trail:
Golden Banner:

Shooting Star:

Sedum:

Aster:

Recharging w/ watermelon and Cheetos!

How does mommy relax?

Dirty anyone?  (These kids look rough!)

Hike: Fern Lake Pools to Cub Lake

Trails Used:  Fern Lake Trail, Cub Lake Trail

Distance: 6.39 miles

Difficulty: Moderate

Overall average: 1.8 mph

Overall Time: 3 hrs, 39 min

Total Ascent: 968 ft.

I did a run each morning.  Even saw a moose the first morning.  There's not a better way to start your morning than that!

Trail Run: Fern Lake Pools

Trails Used:  Fern Lake Trail, Cub Lake Trail

Distance: 6.08 miles

Difficulty: Moderate
Overall average: 6.0 mph
Overall Time: 1 hrs, 00 min
Total Ascent: 398 ft.

I decided to see the Fern Lake Falls since we got so close to them with the kids.  Sure wished I had my camera because the sun was awesome so early in the morning and there was a giant rainbow!

Trail Run: Cub Lake to Fern Lake Falls 

Trails Used:  Cub Lake Trail to Fern Lake Trail and Back

Distance: 8.85 miles

Difficulty: Moderate
Overall average: 4.8 mph
Overall Time: 1 hrs, 49 min
Total Ascent: 1378 ft.