Medora (Theodore Roosevelt NP, North Unit)

This morning I drove up - and over - to the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt NP. Because the park spans time zones, I lost an hour on the hour drive.

This is an out and back road. The road was open, if icy in spots, and only one viewpoint was closed. The Bison and Bighorn Sheep both put on an appearance. The Bison seemed to understand that it was off season as they insisted on ambling up the middle of the road. And trust me, they owned it; it is pretty intimidating to have one of these beasts right next to your vehicle, even a fairly large one like my 4runner. I also found a couple of ring-necked pheasants, although the females are far less colorful.

And I can’t help but note that we’ve already had a [record November snowfall](https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2023/11/01/record-snow-cover-november-lower48/) in the lower 48. Currently it is just chilly, not the bitter cold of the last couple of weeks has given over to relatively mild winter temperatures - 30s, 40s and even a couple of low 50s are predicted for the coming days. And no winter storm are predicted in the near future.

Tomorrow I’ll go back to the South Unit. It is actually nice to have a chance to visit the same area more than once.