Our destination is Glendive, Montana, because Denisa saw a picture that was taken in the state park here. That's the way we travel--one picture can determine our itinerary. She wanted to be in a picture just like the one she saw.
So we are in Makoshika State Park, and Denisa is standing in front of a rock formation called "The Twin Sisters"--the most photographed spot in the park.
The geology in this area is fascinating. It has a layer of soft sandstone, with another layer of very hard stone right on top of it. On a large scale, it make some interesting striped hills.
But when we hiked down into the valleys (called coulees here), we found individual sandstone bases that were being protected by single slabs of the harder stone balanced on top.
The hard stones on top are called cap rocks, and they keep the rain and weather from melting the softer sandstone away.
Sometimes the sandstone columns were very tall, with a double layer of cap rocks.
And sometimes they were shorter versions that were more like strange-looking mushrooms sprouted in the valley.
Tall or short, it was great fun finding these sandstone hoodoos in different parts of Makoshika State Park.
This hoodoo was wearing his cap at the same angle that Denisa wears hers.
We found most of these interesting hoodoos on a hike called "Kinney Coulee," and it was a very cool hike indeed. In fact, it is already on the list of our favorite hikes for 2019.
It's a loop hike that takes you down into the canyon and hikes you right beside some of the best hoodoos in the park. It's less than one mile in length, but it take a very long time with all the mandatory pictures that must be taken.
Our only complaint is that it was cloudy and misty the day we took this hike, so we didn't get the blue skies we wanted. Also, Mark decided to wear a shirt that matched the sandstone, so many of our pictures are pretty mono-chromatic.
It's hard to see Mark among the sandstone hoodoos that have lost their cap rocks. Now capless, they look more like grainy ghosts that are melting away with each rain.
The geology is fascinating at Makoshika State park. We also found perfectly round rocks that they call cannonball concretions.
These broken black cap rocks look like they were embossed with secret codes.
We have truly wondered into another of His wonders today!
We drove the car to the trailhead of the Cap Rock Trail, where it was again starting to sprinkle as we began the hike.
The highlight here is the natural bridge that demands more pictures.
Another day we took some longer hikes deeper into the park. The trail kept us on the ridges, with some viewpoints down to the valleys far below.
We saw some nice geology, but it wasn't near as much fun as hiking in the hoodoos!
When we took this picture from above, we noticed two hoodoos in the center. But there was nothing to show the size of something so far away.
So Mark made a monumental effort to hike down to be in the picture with them. Those rock formations are bigger than they look!
One thing we didn't like about this hike was the flowering clover that has overtaken the trail. We walked in waist-high clover for too many miles that day!
It was Denisa's turn to hike down to these neat formations in a different canyon.
Hiking in Makoshika state park is an other-worldly experience, with some of the most interesting formations we have seen in a while.
After a couple days of hiking, Denisa got more than just the one picture she was after.
She got a whole blog brimming with photos of more of God's wonders! We enjoyed our days in Makoshika State Park! Welcome to Montana!
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