Editor’s note: Mary-Jo McLaughlin, Catholic Family Services Coordinator for the Diocese, and her husband Pat are taking a cross-country camping trip this summer. Here she shares the beauty and adventures the couple has had so far.

Words and pictures cannot adequately express the majesty and glory of God’s creation that my husband and I have seen over the past few weeks in North Dakota and Montana.

After driving for miles through farmland, grasslands and prairies, we were blown away by the drastic change in the landscape of the North Dakota Badlands as we approached Medora, ND, home of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

As we drove through the park, we saw the effects of millions of years of erosion that exposed stone and clay, creating stunning rock formations and buttes of varying hues. The park is divided into a north and south section. One park ranger described the difference between the two sections as follows: People go to the south to see wildlife, and the north has more spectacular views of the exposed stone and clay.

Our campsite was right outside the entrance to the park, so on our first night we decided to follow a guidebook’s advice and drive to Wind Canyon Trail for a breathtaking sunset. Even though it was only 15 miles from the park entrance, getting from here to there was never that easy as the road had so many twists and turns and there was so much to see and stop for.

That night we almost missed sunset when we came across a herd of bison standing in the middle of the road. It was so impressive how they just stood on the road or next to it, eating grass, oblivious to the long line of stationary cars that photographed their every move as they waited for them to pass. It was simply incredible, only surpassed by the stunning display of colors we saw when we finally reached our destination for sunset. As we traveled through the park over the next few days, we continued to see bison and wild horses.

President Theodore Roosevelt came to this area in 1883 to hunt bison and was said to have been captivated by the area’s pristine beauty. The following year, his wife and mother died on the same day. Roosevelt returned to this part of North Dakota to mourn their loss and found solace in, as the park map states, “getting lost in the vastness” of the area. He eventually established a cattle ranch in the area and credits his time in North Dakota with many of the conservation efforts initiated by his administration. In fact, he wrote, “I have always said that without my experiences in North Dakota, I would never have been President.”

As stunning as this park was, it didn’t come close to the grandeur that awaited us at Glacier National Park (GNP) in Montana. It’s called the “Crown of the Continent,” and while that’s a bold claim, it may well be true. Its towering Rocky Mountain peaks are indescribable and were by far the most picturesque sights we’ve seen to date. To see the park, drive the 50-mile road known as the “Going to the Sun Road,” which traverses the park from east to west, crossing the Continental Divide at an elevation of 6,646 feet. It’s a steep, winding section that’s narrow in places, with numerous rock overhangs and breathtaking views around every bend.

To truly appreciate the beauty of GNP, one must get off the road and hike one of the park’s many trails. Aware that we were in “bear country,” we ventured onto some of the more popular and well-traveled trails that were noisy enough to keep bears away. There was a six-mile round-trip hike to two beautiful waterfalls, and on another day, a seven-mile hike to a gorgeous crystal-clear lake in the mountains, where we narrowly missed a bear on the shore before it disappeared back into the woods.

Whether I was driving down Going to the Sun Road and marveling at the towering mountain peaks, exploring the interior of the park with its gentle aqua and teal colored lakes, or resting next to the cool and refreshing waterfalls, everything I saw just made me stop and say, “WOW!” One time, while standing at a viewpoint looking up at the mountain called Heaven’s Peak, I turned to my husband and said, “Can it get any more beautiful?” And of course it did.

I stretched out my hands beside me, felt the wind blow over my body, bowed my head and sang softly to myself, the only words I could use to describe what I felt in my heart: “Oh Lord my God, when I behold in awe all the worlds that your hands have made… then my soul, my Savior, sings to you: How great you are, how great you are!”

By Mary-Jo McLaughlin

As we drove through Theodore Roosevelt National Park, we saw many bison either grazing or resting in the grass. In the photo above, the bison was walking right outside our car window.

Just some of the many impressive views that await visitors to the Badlands at Theodore Roosevelt National Park in Medora, North Dakota.

The peaks of the Rocky Mountains in Montana’s Glacier National Park will take your breath away. It’s no wonder that one of the park’s most distinctive mountains is called Heaven’s Peak.

One of our hikes in Glacial National Park in Montana offered us spectacular views of a crystal clear, blue-green lake.

After a long, three-mile hike in Glacial National Park, we were rewarded with a scenic view of this cool and refreshing waterfall.