Writing Rock State Historic Site, ND

If there's one thing that I've learned over the last six years of traveling it's not to procrastinate.  Don't put off going to see or do the things that you really want the chance to experience.  You may think you have plenty of time, but in reality plans quite often change.  That six month stay gets cut short and only turns out to be one month.  That has happened to us numerous times...and we missed out. 

Thinking along those lines, we look for interesting things to fill our days no matter where we are.  If we end up staying in the area, then we are better acquainted with the local history.  If we end up leaving sooner than expected, then we feel satisfied knowing that we got the most out of our stay. 

Looking online, a place in the far northwestern corner of North Dakota caught our attention.  A historic site with some cool stone carvings that date back as far as 1000 A.D.  About an hour drive, the perfect way to spend a sunny day.

We packed a picnic, put our destination in the GPS, and away we went.  It was a peaceful drive, deserted country roads...lots of farmland.  Driving along, in the middle of nowhere, and the GPS suddenly says to turn off on a random dirt road.  I had my suspicions (google maps has led us astray more times than I care to recall), but did it anyway. 

Aaaand, it was a wrong turn.  We eventually made our way back to the road, the paved road, but in the meantime we just enjoyed the beautiful scenery.  The cows were so curious...

...and that fluffy stuff in the field, it was so pretty!

Not too far down the (paved) road there was a sign letting us know that we were actually heading in the right direction.  We followed the sign and it led us right where we needed to go, Writing Rock State Historic Site.

We pulled in and once again we were the only people there.  The park sits near the top of a hill with some trees to one side and views forever.  We chose a picnic table in the sun and enjoyed our lunch...

This little guy was quite interested in our arrival...

As soon as we were done eating, the kids took off for the playground...

It was awesome!  All the wonderful old style equipment that most places have deemed unsafe.  A little danger is good for you ;)...

The kids enjoyed it so much.  It's not often you find a merry-go-round...

...or a slide that scares you when you go down but you just can't stop yourself from doing it over and over (hehe)...

his expressions...:)

When everyone was good and dizzy, we took a break from playing to go see the park's namesake.  Up the hill and through the bushes we walked...

Btw, do any of you know what kind of berries those ^^^ are?  We were wondering if maybe they are chokecherries...

At the top of the hill there is a little stone building...

...a plaque tells a little about the rocks...

...and inside, locked up behind bars...are the rocks...

Not much to it, really.  But it is a link to the history of this land and to us very interesting... 

The carvings are of Thunderbirds, fabled to be the cause of lightning and thunder.  This site is considered sacred by several Native American tribes, but the exact purpose of these rocks and the meaning of the carvings is unknown today. 

The story is lost but the rocks are still cool...

Ok, back to the playground :)...

The kids are still asking to go back there and play again :)...