Making Lemonade at TRNP

 

This ain't lemonade!

One truth about outdoor adventures - the weather has a lot to do with the experience.  

After we finished our hike in the South Unit on Monday, it started raining.  When we woke up on Tuesday it was still raining, and it would be still raining when we went to bed on Tuesday evening.

Despite the rain, we set out on Tuesday morning for the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park (TRNP).  We planned on hiking the Caprock Coulee Trail in the North Unit, but the rangers told us that the trails were too muddy and treacherous.    So we opted for the scenic drive and got out at a number of the lookout points.   We were able to hike the Lil Mo Nature Trail, the only paved trail in the park, but even that was flooded in areas.   Despite the rain, the North Unit was beautiful, and we can see why people say it is even more spectacular than the South Unit, see our pictures below:

Since our trail time ended early, we headed back to the hotel to do some laundry and trip planning.  We find that the best thing to do when the weather is not cooperating is try to free up some time in the future when the weather is hopefully nicer.   

At the Medora Musical (note set in background)

We had an excellent Mexican meal at Los Cabos in Dickinson, and set out for our final activity of the day, the outdoor musical in Medora.   Even though it's a bit campy, we had heard good reviews and thought it would be a fun evening.   The temps dipped to the upper 40s this evening and it was still raining but the show was scheduled to go on.   We bundled up and arrived at the venue, waited in line for a while only to learn that the show was cancelled due to weather.   Honestly, we were a bit grateful for that because it was still raining and quite chilly.  If anyone plans to go to the musical let us know - we have four free ticket vouchers due to the cancellation!

The next morning we woke up to sunshine and blue skies.   We decided to stop at the Painted Canyon TRNP visitor center on the way to our next stop, Havre, MT.   The Painted Canyon visitor center is a rest stop on I-94, and it has a ranger station and access to two trails.   It's not an entrance to the national park - you can't drive into the park - but it has an amazing view of the canyons and two hiking trails. 

Trying to bushwhack an
alternate route

The Trail of Mud!

We visited the ranger station and headed out on the 1 mile nature trail, which we thought would be a warmup for the 4 mile Painted Canyon trail.    The nature trail was quite steep and full of mud - it turned out to be more difficult than expected.  At one point the nature trail was just a steep vertical mudslide, so we bushwhacked an alternate route back up the trail.  The rangers warned us the Painted Canyon trail would be even muddier.   We decided the nature trail was enough for this morning!

If you ever go to TRNP, our suggestion would be to stop at the Painted Canyon visitor center to see the view behind the center (below), but skip the hiking trails there and instead focus on the trails in the South and North units.

Band in Havre

We got back to the car and headed to Havre.    Havre was supposed to be a quick stopover for groceries and a night sleep before our white water rafting trip in Missoula.    We had dinner at Dyllan's Pizzeria in Havre, and when we came out we heard live music.  We walked over and learned it was live outdoor music night in Havre.   The band was great, the Elks Lodge was selling hot dogs and hamburgers, and the Snow Cone truck was there.   This was small town Americana and one of the reasons we wanted to drive on this vacation - "the journey is as important as the destination".   We had a great time with the locals listening to the music on a beautiful evening in this small town in Montana.

Watching the concert with some
disguised Dulce Vida...

While the last two days didn't go as planned, we really enjoyed the beauty of Theodore Roosevelt National Park and the times we had in the small towns of Medora, Dickinson and Havre .  When the weather doesn't cooperate we often find some hidden gems in unexpected places.  Tomorrow is our white water rafting trip in Missoula, MT about a 5 hour drive from Havre.   Until next time....