AN ANCIENT STORY

“I grow very fond of this place, and it certainly has a desolate, grim beauty of its own, that has a curious fascination for me.”

~Theodore Roosevelt

This place, named for the author above, is Theodore Roosevelt National Park (TRNP), located in the southwestern region of a state clearly delineated by two main types of geography. Land that was glaciated and land that was not.  TRNP resides in a colorful and rugged geographic area of a state named for the first peoples who still call her home, the Lakota and Dakota.

North Dakota, her ancient story whispers through her stones! Our guide over the next several posts is a geologist who spent 43 years eavesdropping, at ground level—crawling, digging, searching, and wandering with these silent stones, stalking clues to reveal her story from that epoch time!  North Dakota’s stones are talking, and her secret codes carefully decrypted. 

How many rocks have you picked up and examined in your travels?  Are they stacked on your bookshelf? Tucked in a flower box? Piled in your garden? Made into a necklace? When your eye scans a vast, jaw dropping landscape, do you ask yourself, “How did that happen?” Sooooo—if you are enamored with the secret tales beneath your feet, you will enjoy our guide through the geologic history surrounding the region the 46,158 acres the south unit of TRNP are located!

In the words of Josiah Gilbert Holland who lived from 1819-1881, “Geology gives us a key to the patience of God.”

Have an amazing, looking down day, in your part of the world.  Even hidden beneath our snow covered terrain here in Minnesota a stone is waiting to reveal her ancient story!

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for coming along on this journey to Blaze! Thank you for being his great human herd! ~Deb