Teddy had the right idea...

We took a drive...

out of Williston...

away from all the hustle and bustle of the oilfield...

out where our eyes could rest, tired from the sight of endless people and all their accoutrements...

where finally, after weeks of being squeezed in by all things oilfield and work, we could exhale...

We headed down just past Watford City, to the North Unit of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon in late June.  We didn't expect to have the park to ourselves, but that's pretty much what we found...

Whatever the reason...I'll take it and be glad for it.  Peace and quiet, with a hefty dose of natural beauty, is like a healing balm for my soul...

We took our time, driving slowly through the park with our windows down. The cool breeze blowing through the car...taking all the tensions of being too long cooped up in a town with it as it whispered in and back out...

Driving right on past the little Visitor Center, we didn't even stop to get any Jr. Ranger books (shocking, I know ;)...), we followed the road until we came to the picnic area.  Everyone tumbled out...shoes were kicked off, footballs grabbed.  The only sounds were of running feet and happy chatter as the kids played, free...

Between games of catch and tag, we grilled up some sweet corn for our supper.  Oh my word...ya'll, that was the best tasting corn I have ever had.  Sweet, buttery, salty, and a tad bit smokey tasting...
good stuff :)...

We stayed there quite a while, just hanging out.  Just as we were packing up to leave another family showed up.  They had armfuls of firewood and headed for the little open-air stone building with a fireplace built in.  I hadn't even really noticed it until then, but made a mental note to myself to come back someday and bring some wood.  I do love a chilly night under the stars with a cozy fire (and smore's, of course).

When we left there, we continued on deeper into the park...

we walked a few trails...

the views were simply beautiful...

Then, towards the far back end of the park, we came upon a large group of Bison (Buffalo, whatever). 

There were even some babies!  They were so cute :)...

this little guy was grunting like a piglet...i don't think he liked us ;)

I was focused on a group of Buffies (what the kids call them) off in the distance, atop a hill, and had my camera up to my face getting ready to take a picture.  We were slowly creeping along in the car...I snapped the picture and took my camera down and was face to face with a huge Buffy!  He was RIGHT THERE!  HAHAHA!!!  It's funny now...

that brown blur...my buffy photobomber ;)

It was getting late, close to 9pm, and we still had close to a two hour drive to get back to our camper.  Dan had to get up early, early the next morning for work or we would have stayed til the sun went down.  Sunset is my favorite, but this...

...this is pretty good, too...