"Watch out!" Charlene yelled as my horse, Buddy, approached a rattlesnake on the trail. Since we were on a cliff-side trail in eroded badlands, the snake had nowhere to go except toward us, away from us, or over the edge.
To Buddy and Scout's relief, and ours', the snake slithered over the side and down into mystical, colorful badlands. We were riding in what is arguably the best park for trail riders in North Dakota, the Little Missouri State Park (701/764-5256; www.ndparks.com/parks/lmbsp.htm).
Horseman's Heaven
Located 50 miles north of the town of Dickenson in western North Dakota, the Little Missouri State Park is a paradise for trail riders. Wind, water, and sand sculpted this wildly rugged country, featuring North Dakota's most awe-inspiring scenery.
The Sioux Indians called this place Mako Shika or "where the land breaks." (For more on the area, contact North Dakota Tourism, 800/435-5663; www.ndtourism.com.)
Upon our arrival, we were enthusiastically greeted by site supervisor Gerry Brennan. Here's a man who loves his job! He proudly showed us the immaculate, well-designed park.
Top-notch facilities feature manicured lawns, fire rings, and picnic tables. Some sites have electrical hookups. There are four picnic shelters, as well as a recreational-vehicle dump station. Best of all, most sites have terrific views over the canyon edge into the dazzling badlands below.
This park offers thoughtful equine accommodations: Spacious corrals sport rakes, shovels, and even wheelbarrows. Situated strategically to each set of corrals is a convenient manure dump. This certainly made cleanup easy, and these are very clean corrals!
After our tour, we asked Gerry what he enjoys the most about the park; he answered easily with a grin. After 12 years of being site supervisor, he still revels in "the joy that happy people bring," and he cherishes their "good-bye smiles."
Fair Warning
Early the following morning, we positioned ourselves in our lawn chairs at the canyon rim, coffee cups in hand. Morning light filtered across our camp, overflowing into the chasms of the badlands below, which were covered in a thick, gray blanket of fog. We watched in awe as hesitant fingers of light plucked away the gray covering, turning the somber landscape into various hues.
After our leisure morning, we turned our attention to selecting the trails on which we'd ride. Trails range widely in difficulty and steepness. Trail maps rate them according to three levels of difficulty, green, blue, and black.
Green-marked trails are the easiest. They're wide and have gentle inclines. Blue-marked trails, which extend further into the park, are steeper and may be narrower. Black-marked trails follow the most difficult terrain: long, steep inclines and high, narrow ridges.
Most trails and junctions are marked. However, Gerry warned us that it's easy to become confused, because of the intersection of cattle trails and the myriad of eroded ridges and valleys. He advised us to carry a whistle so we could signal for help. Voices become weak and don't carry for long distances. Also, he told us to be aware of our back trail for a return route.
Gerry related an incident where a hiker from England walked into the badlands and didn't return for quite some time. Concerned, Gerry rode out in search of the hiker.
He found the hiker out of water, disoriented, and walking in circles. Gerry told him to get on his horse so he could ride back. The hiker looked at Gerry's cowboy boots and graciously said, "You've got the wrong kind of shoes [for walking]. I had better walk!" The Englishman had good intentions, but after a few paces, the exhausted man gave in and rode out. Cowboy-booted Gerry hiked back.
After this story, we debated which trail to take. At that moment, North Dakotan Al Olson stopped by to say hello. He invited us to go with him on an introductory four-hour ride of the badlands. We happily took him up on his offer.
Al has been riding the badlands for 20 years, and knows every nook and cranny. His trusting equine partner is a 10-year-old Quarter Horse named P.J.
Along with Al was his riding buddy, Odell Krohn, on his 6-year-old Morgan Horse, Free. Odell is 75 years old and said he planned to ride until he was 90. By then, his horse would be 21. Rounding out the trio was Chuck Webster on an 18-year-old Morgan named Kadhy.
The morning of our ride we were joined by Marty and Karen Thiel. These folks were riding and training a pair of 3- and 4-year-old Morgans. The Thiels are involved in breeding and training Morgan Horses at their Black Heart Morgans farm in New Salem, North Dakota (701/843-7959; www.blackheartmorgans.com).
Interestingly, the lone survivor from George Armstrong Custer's cavalry at the Battle of the Little Bighorn was a Morgan Horse named Comanche. He recovered from seven major wounds and lived out his life as a celebrity at Fort Abraham Lincoln, North Dakota. Today, he's mounted and on display at the Natural History Museum at the University of Kansas.
