Hannah...

...Montana!

Well, let's start with North Dakota, and thus begins my personal favorite riding day of the trip so far.

So we begin with a ride across a bridge. Over a beautiful river.

Hey, I even took a video! Good job me!

That day was the first day where I really felt like I was in the American West. I even saw two cowboys and a cowgirl! Mesas and plateaus were in the distance, and I was surrounded by a lot more vibrant colors. Those mesas are awesome, they look like giant tree stumps, making me feel microscopic.

For the first time in a long time, we had a tailwind, so we were flying. Just a great feeling. (Jay there.)

At the lunch stop, we were surrounded by mountains and red rocks and all kinds of exciting terrain. We all felt amazing. And I thought, wow, Theodore Roosevelt National Park (our destination) must be this beautiful.

The awesomeness surrounding me continues. (Jay there)

After some more of the biking through the area, I turned a corner at the top of a hill and saw the terrain plunge down into a series of gorges and beautiful round mountain tops surrounding a valley. The descent was awesome. So breathtaking a few of us did it again.

Going down into the valley gave me a feeling like no other. (A bit shaky, but I feel like you get the idea)

After getting out of our biking shorts and jerseys, a few of us decided to go explore the park a bit. (can't really tell but I know Angel's at the far right)

I was particularly excited to see some animals, but I kept my expectations low. (Jason, Jeremy, Eileen, Laura, Nick)

We walked through a prairie dog town and those prairie dogs were EVERYWHERE. They were pretty fearless towards us humans, too. (Jay and a lil friend)

Those formations were big.

We walked around in an area surrounded by the large rock formations. It just seemed surreal.

Jeremy and I went up to an overlook, and after a pretty big ascent, we were greeted by a spectacular view. I did some hard thinking up there :D

On all sides, as far as you could see, it was all nature, untouched by roads or buildings.

Those are some crazy rocks.

So early the next morning, I was a bit sad to leave the place, but I was satisfied with how much I had seen the previous day. It was super cold that morning (hence the jackets). (Jay, Julia, Rachel, Laura)

We camped out about 5 miles deep in the park, and it was a beautiful morning ride out. (Jay, Nate, Jeremy)

We were interrupted a bit by two herds of bison blocking the roads, but we were lucky enough to have a construction pickup randomly come by and offer to clear a path for us.

Bye Theodore Roosevelt National Park! (Laura, Julia, Jeremy, Nate, Rachel)

Well, the beauty did not end when we left the park. Amazing colors on amazing terrain, all over again.

And we reach Montana!

And since I didn't post a picture of crossing into North Dakota (the sign was atop a bridge), here's a picture of the ND state sign.

Already, Montana's looking to a be a state favorite of mine. (Jay on the left)

Just crossed the Missouri River bridge, and it looks a bit like Theodore Roosevelt National Park over again.

Currently, I'm riding through a lot of Native reservations. We stayed at a church yesterday night that showed us some wonderful hospitality.

The ride through Montana is gonna go on for quite some time (almost two weeks?). Tomorrow headed to Glasgow.

So yeah, saw a ton of animals. All sorts of surprises.