To The Hundredth Meridian: DAY 7 TUESDAY, AUG. 27 BISMARCK ND

We have figured out how to make our A/C work under the brutal conditions. Thank God for that. A friendly technician at a rad shop in Bismarck said that if we kept our A/C only about 10 degrees below the outside temperature, it should work fine and feel cool in the car. We were just about ready to abort the trip, given the forecast high temperatures for the next week in the Great Plains.

Heading west saw the heat build up and the land roll on in incredible vistas. We found the badlands at Theodore Roosevelt National Park and drove a loop in some of the most incredible scenery we have seen since Bryce Canyon Utah five years ago. Roosevelt had a special connection with North Dakota because he bought land here and retreated here early in his career when his wife and mother died within hours of each other: he found peace and solace in this strangely calm and wise land.

We saw a prairie dog city and loved the antics of these little critters. We followed a small herd of wild horses and watched as they dictated the flow of traffic on the road. There's something wonderful about watching wild horses as they keep their small group together under the direction of a couple of the older mares, and the continuous watchful and protective eye of the stallion. Then, off to the open rangeland of Montana. This is truly wonderful country. History is everywhere and I imagined First Nations and settlers roaming the land with pronghorn antelope and bison as their fellow travellers. It was constant and amazing. Finally, the heat did us in and we hunkered down in a real frontier town in Miles City. People actually wear cowboy hats, boots and jeans here because, well, they are REAL cowboys. We saw a couple of young women in a Walmart ( shame on us for shopping there, but we're on a budget ) who were picking up a few things after work. They were dusty and one wore spurs on her boots. Never seen that before. We ate steak and drank beer in a saloon dating from 1908, with original wood and leather upholstery and more bison and longhorn heads on the walls than you could shake a six-shooter at. Yep, this is cowboy country ... awesome !!