The Badlands!!!
My legs are sore, my sunburn throbs, and the newly formed mosquito bites are itching so bad that it’s hard to concentrate on anything else. All of this was the consequence of spending an entire weekend in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, also know as the badlands. After 56 hrs of working, endless days, calculating formula for patients who cannot eat orally, this was a trip needed. The park was laid out like a piece of panoramic artwork water-colored from the Thomas Kinkade gallery of the great outdoors. Wild bison greeted my entrance into the park and were intimidating, as I was warned by a park ranger that bison are fast and will charge anything within 100 ft of their view. Sure enough my car slowly approached a herd grazing in the middle of the road and only looked up and started stomping at the approach of my little black car, at the time seeming to be slightly larger than the male bison. Slowly I turned off my car waiting patiently as they passed, only a foot away from my car and peering through my window as to warn me to not budge.
Not wasting any time, I started my weekend with a 7 mile hike on Caprock Coulee Trail transversing over the ice cream looking rock formations that may be categorized as mountains but a different type of mountain solely made of rock deposits, clays of various color, and the occasional tree. Normally I'd hike at 2-3 mph pace however being slow was necessary in order to stop, look around, and if anything to avoid the presence of a bison. The last thing I wanted was to be charged and end up in the hospital with a perforated bowel from the horn of a wild beast. Believe me, there have been patients in the hospital who have had this specific problem and end up losing a section of their intestine. Pretty Gnarly but not for me. At the end of this 31/2 hr hike nothing seemed more relaxing than pitching a tent (at Juniper campsite) and reading next to Little Missouri River, not so little at its 560 mi length through the Great Plains. Pretty tired after three hours of driving and miles of hiking, crashing out at 8pm seemed pretty necessary and even though the thought of sleeping in seemed nice, getting up at 6am to hike another 7miles through prairie land seemed even better. Despite the early slumber, the night was not over as the stars woke me around 2am with their Lite- Bright effect and sound of crickets chirping in the distance. Looking up and thanking the great outdoors for their peace and tranquility it brings to my soul, slowly I fell back to sleep only awaking to the sound of the wind and the glow of a beautiful North Dakota sunrise.
Day 2 was spent hiking part of the 12 mile Buckhorn trail, a trail recommended by one of the forest rangers who supposedly laid out most of the hikes in the National Park. The trail was amazing as it passed through sagebrush flats, badlands, and cutting through the middle of Prairie Dog Town. The prairie dogs were adorable and at times would follow behind and chatter amongst themselves as a form of entertainment and probably the most amusement they would get for the day. Feet sore from breaking in new hiking boots, I decided to cut the hike about 4 miles short and head back to the car (5 miles away), sad at first but then happy to be 3 hrs away from one of the most amazing national parks I've been to. There will be more adventures in this park and lots of pictures to show you all upon arriving home. Nature is a blessing in many ways.
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Tonight training gets intense and there is only 3 weeks left until race day. My goal is to run a 5k in 21 minutes, a feat that will be joyous and training sessions that are similar to a love/hate relationship.