Editors note: Mary-Jo McLaughlin, Catholic Family Services Coordinator for the Diocese, and her husband, Pat are on a cross-country camping trip this summer. Here she shares some of the beauty and experiences the couple has encountered thus far.
Words and pictures are inadequate to capture the majesty and glory of God’s creation that my husband and I have seen in the past few weeks in North Dakota and Montana.
After driving through miles of farmlands, grasslands, and prairies, we were stunned to see the drastic changing scenery of the North Dakota Badlands as we approached Medora, ND, the home of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
Driving through the Park, we saw the results of millions of years of erosion that exposed stone and clay into breathtaking rock formations and buttes in varying shades of color. The park is divided into a North and South unit. One park ranger described the difference between the two as the South being where people go to see wildlife and the north where one can see more spectacular views of the exposed rocks and clay.
Our campground was located right outside the entrance to the park so our first night we decided to follow one guide’s suggestion that we travel to Wind Canyon Trail for an awe-inspiring sunset. Although it was only a 15-mile distance from the park entrance, getting from here to there was never that easy with the twists and winding bends in the road and so much to pause and see.
On this night, we almost missed the sunset when we encountered a herd of bison standing in the middle of the road. They were so impressive just standing on the road or alongside it eating grass oblivious to the long stretch of stopped cars photographing their every move while waiting for them to pass. It was nothing short of incredible, matched only by the stunning array of colors we saw when we finally made it to our destination for the sunset. Traveling throughout the park over the next few days we continued to see bison as well as wild horses.
President Theodore Roosevelt arrived in this area in 1883 to hunt bison and is said to have been captivated by its pristine beauty. The following year both his wife and mother died on the very same day. Roosevelt returned to this section of North Dakota to grieve their loss and found solace, as the park map states by ‘losing himself in the vastness” of the area. Eventually, he established a cattle ranch in the area and credits his time in North Dakota with many of the preservation efforts his administration initiated. In fact, he wrote, “I have always said I never would have been President if it had not been for my experiences in North Dakota.”
As stunning as this park was, it did not match the grandeur that awaited us at Montana’s Glacier National Park (GNP). It is called the ‘Crown of the Continent’ and, although a bold statement, it may very well be true. Its towering Rocky Mountain peaks are impossible to describe and were by far the most picturesque scenes we have seen thus far. To see the park, one travels the 50-mile road known as “Going to the Sun Road,” which spans the park from east to west, crossing the Continental Divide at an elevation of 6,646 feet. It is a steep stretch of winding road, narrow in parts with numerous rock overhangs and breathtaking views around each bend.
To genuinely appreciate the beauty of GNP, one needs to get off the road and hike one of the many park trails. Mindful that we were in ‘Bear Country’ we ventured out on some of the more popular and well-traveled trails that were noisy enough to keep any bears at bay. There was a six-mile round trip hike to two beautiful waterfalls and another day a seven-mile hike to an exquisite crystal-clear lake cradled in the mountains, where we just missed seeing a bear along the shoreline before it disappeared back into the woods.
Whether driving along the Going to the Sun Road seeing the tremendous mountain peaks or viewing the interior of the park and its gentle aqua and teal-colored lakes or resting beside its cool and refreshing waterfalls, with everything I saw I just stood there and said, “WOW!” At one point standing at an overlook peering out at the mountain called ‘Heaven’s Peak’ I turned to my husband and said, “Does it get any more beautiful than this?” And, of course, it did.
I stretched out my hands beside me, felt the wind blowing across my body, bowed my head and sang softly to myself the only words I could use to describe what I was feeling in my heart: “Oh, Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder consider all the worlds thy hands have made…then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee, How great thou art, How great thou art!”
By Mary-Jo McLaughlin
Driving through Theodore Roosevelt National Park we saw many bison either grazing or resting in the grass. In the top photo, the bison walked right outside our car window.
Just a few of the many impressive views awaiting visitors to the Badlands in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Medora, North Dakota.
The peaks of the Rocky Mountains in Glacier National Park in Montana will take your breath away. No wonder one of the Park’s most prominent mountains is called, Heaven’s Peak.
One of our hikes in Montana’s Glacial National Park gave us a spectacular view of a crystal clear, teal colored lake.
After a long, three-mile hike in Glacial National Park we were rewarded with a picturesque view of this cool and refreshing waterfall.