| 06/03/05 - 06/05/05
Sundheim Park, ND GPS Location N47�51.548' W103�58.159' Elevation 1977' Halfway between Fairview MT - Cartwright, ND |
| We woke up at 5 AM, yes you heard right, 5 AM. And it was beautiful. The morning reminded me of the times I woke up in Indiana as a small girl. I can't quite place how North Dakota is different from Seattle. I'm not sure if its the unending sky or the way the sun always seems to be nearby.
The sun had not quite reached the horizon when Kim talked me into going for a walk. The dogs followed me around the campground as I hiked around, hearing the birds just waking up and the sun peeking up over the hills. We had breakfast and decided to go for an early morning drive. While the trails for rails web site for Sundheim Park says that the trail is wheelchair accessible, getting up to the actual level track is a different matter. Steep cliffs where motor bikes have climbed up and down are the only way to get up to the top. We decided to see if there was an easier way. The sun was fully up now and we took a drive to see if we could find the tunnel and maybe a better entrance. The other side of the trail was near a house with a no trespassing sign going to the tunnel, so we decided we would tackle the cliff. After a nap, we got the trike and bike ready. I climbed up to the bridge with the puppies to see if they would be willing to walk over the grate. I called to Sam and wanting to please me, she took several steps, whining the whole time. Ginger said in her own way, "You have got to be kidding!" Well, I turned around and the dogs got to stay in the camper while we took the trail. The bridge was built in 1913 and bridges the two sides of the Yellowstone River, near where it meets the Missouri River. With the grating below, you can see the river below passing by. I had one moment of dizziness as I looked down but it was fun biking across. (It would have been fun to have our friend Vicki with us on this one.) Right after the bridge, an old train tunnel was built into the hill. Usually since the tunnels go deep into the earth, there is a deep chill at the entrance. But with this tunnel, there was only a coolness that felt good coming from the warm afternoon sun. Creosote smell was all around and loud 'cooing' sounds of the pigeons that live on the bridge and in the tunnel spoke tensely of our arrival. Bird feathers and droppings were right at the entrance and several pigeons flew out at me from the darkness. I couldn't help but think of Hitchcock's 'The Birds' but maybe dark tunnels just get me paranoid. The cute pigeons flew around and most of them were at the entrance, (I think) It was difficult to see as we got deeper into the tunnel. There is a point when you go through these train tunnels where there is no light from the entrance or the exit. You just have to trust that sometime you will see the end. Our small headlamps just illuminated the floor and occasional wood of the sidings. Kim went first and came to a sudden stop in the darkness. I was so glad she had reflectors on her back because I came to a stop shortly after. Right in the middle of the tunnel was fire wood for a make-shift fire. You could not see either entrance from this vantage point, but interestingly there were abandoned unopened soda bottles in this area. I bet someone got smoked out. We used our headlamps to navigate around and shortly afterward, we saw the light at the end of the tunnel. Kim annoyed some more pigeons as they flew out of their burrows and one small creature came right at her. I didn't get to see it in the dark, but she thinks it may have been a bat. It was lighter now and we no longer needed our headlamps. We followed the train tracks through the hills for a ways then turned around. It was not difficult imagining the trains going through all these years ago. We got the RV hooked back up and just in time for a thunder and rain storm. Warm and dry inside our camper, we looked at our pictures and had a good rest after our adventure. |