Site one: Our first stop is Death Valley. It is the hottest, driest, and lowest National Park. In this below sea-level basin, steady drought and record summer temperatures make Death Valley a land of extremes. Yet, each extreme has a striking contrast. Towering peaks are frosted with winter snow. Rare rainstorms bring vast fields of wildflowers. A great variety of things live and grow in death valley.
First, we went for a hike before it got too hot. The Rangers there suggest not hiking after 10am because it gets humid and dehydrates people very quickly. After that, we went to the Furnace Creek Visitor Center where we looked at exhibits and asked rangers a few questions about the park. Then we went to the Borax museum where we saw mineral collections and the history of Death Valley. We had to do indoor activities the rest of the day because it was too warm outside to go do anything outside.
Site two: On a cooler note, we went to Fort Ransom in Fort Ransom, North Dakota. This National Park is in a heavily wooded area near the Sheyenne River Valley. The National Park officially opened in 1979. This park is managed as a natural and scenic area. Before this park was here, there was a farmstead which had many cattle and different variety of crops and other types of harvest. People worked hard to make this land into a National Park.
The first thing we did there was we went hiking down national trails and looked at the nature and wildlife. After that we were warm and sweaty so we went for a swim in the Sheyenne River. Once we got cooled off, we went canoeing. Canoeing is popular on the Sheyenne River during the summer, with canoe and kayak rentals available in the park. We got told snow skiing and snowmobiling were also very popular, but since we were there in the summer, we couldn't do either of those things. We decided we would come back on snowmobiles in the winter to go skiing. It was a very enjoyable trip.
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