Adventure Rides

LITTLE MISSOURI ADVENTURE RIDE  - Submitted by Wanda Hanson

 

KILLDEER ND

 

The trip to Little Missouri State Park just north of Killdeer ND is so worth the drive. As I came around the corner on to the drive way of the park, one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen greeted me. The deep canyons & large bluffs are just breathtaking. As you wind your way down the driveway it is hard to keep your eyes on the road as you can’t help but look at the scenery. When I pulled up to the Rangers station, I could see a few rigs had already arrived, the Ranger on duty came out & greeted me & explained how they had the sites for us & was so helpful. After getting parked & my horse settled in his corral, I did a “walk about” to see who was in. I met a few people for northern MN & some familiar faces from central Mn. As we visited, more rigs streamed in. A few of us went out for a quick ride Wed. night & back to greet the rest that had come in. All in & counted for, we would have close to 30 riders for our trek. I then met up with the two gals I had met last year & had volunteered to be our guide. Jodi Moore & Mo (Maureen) Roden . After a bite to eat & a great bone fire, the campfire talk varied from finding out where everyone was from, how long a drive we had, to a few that had gone out west first & then came to Little Missouri on there way back.

 

Morning arrived with everyone cleaning pens, feeding their animals ( we had horses & mules on our ride J) And anticipating the days ride. Lunches packed & saddled up we headed out for a very nice ride, through the trees over hills & up on top of some buttes for some beautiful views of the area. With Jodi leading the group & Mo pulling up the tail, we all had a very nice ride. It was a little warm that day & we were back by 3:00 & ready to cool down & visit. It was a very nice ride to “ease into” the terrain. Friday we packed our lunches & headed out again, a cooler day with a few clouds, it was perfect. We rode on the edges of some huge cliffs, and climbed to the tops of Hogs Back, & Indian, which were absolutely gorgeous. While coming down the other side of Indian, we heard a rattle snake, but did not see it. (which we were happy about) We did see an eagle soaring over top, also a group of trees full of Blue Birds, and some saw a few deer as they came around a bend. Back to camp we were & getting rested up from our ride, we also had to rest our fingers from taking so many pictures! As we were getting ready for our Pot Luck supper, everyone swapped stories & the excitement of the days ride just keep going & we were already discussing where we would be going on our last day. Supper was a feast as usual at any MTRA ride, and we had all worked up an appetite. Ranger Jerry had joined us and told a few stories of rattle snakes & dogs on the trail. And more stories of peoples adventures on the trail & in live were to be had. After much laughter, it was time for a bon fir & checking the horses. Soon it was off to bed to rest up for the next trails Jodi & Mo would take us on. Morning came with another beautiful sunrise & perfect weather. We all felt very blessed to have great weather for our trip. We were up dated on the temperature by Mo and her thermometer she had pinned to her shirt, along with her compass that was always right on track. (Right?) As we headed out for our last day at the park. We saw Ranger Jerry with his horse & pack horse loaded with 2 containers of weed spray heading out to “take care of some bad guys”. As we made our way up & over Cougar Canyon and over the top of Hogs Back again we had a few riders that chose not to do it the day before that decided this was there chance & up they came, & were so thankful that they did…what a view form the top. We crossed a few more black trails, which included Indian again & at the other end we heard that familiar sound from the day before as 2 rattle snakes were about 8 feet off the trail. Jodi held up her hand and we all got quite, after a few seconds (that felt like hrs) they went down their hole again, that was close enough for me!! Then we made our way down the trail, through the trees, crossing coulees and finding water tanks along the trail, it was another perfect day, we did have a slight “detour” as the far end of the park is not very well marked, but we all made it back to the top & met up at the gate. All in all it was another perfect day. Back at camp, horses fed & watered, it was the last night for camp fires and swapping stories of our ride. Some started packing up camp knowing we had a drive ahead of us come morning. Good byes said, it was off to bed. Morning came early & as I loaded my horse & told the earlier riser’s good bye again & save travels, I headed down the driveway looking over that beautiful view that I am still at awe about. Just as I came to the gate to leave five mule deer came looping across in front of me, as if to say “Thanks for coming & see you next time”. What a trip! A big Thank you to Jodi & Mo for being our guides and keeping us laughing. And I would also like to thank the Little Missouri State Park for being so accommodating. One more Thank you to everyone that came. You all made this adventure a remarkable memory.

 

If you ever have the chance to get to Little Missouri, take it, it is so worth the drive.

 

What an “Adventure” it was.

 

Happy trails,

 

Wanda Hanson

 

MTRA Trail Coordinator

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