Scott Davis

TRAVEL
THE BADLANDS
THE LONG X DIVIDE
Right around the Spring Equinox, barring
a late spring blizzard, park rangers
re-open the scenic drive into the North
Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National
Park. Now, in April, is the time to look here for the
first signs of spring—the emergence of the pasque
flowers (crocuses to us laymen).
When you visit the North Unit this year, drive to
the end of the scenic road, stop at Oxbow Overlook,
walk to the edge, and gaze south and west
over the top of the Little Missouri River. Those tall
hills you are looking at are the Achenbach Hills
(no, that’s not some fractured German translation
of “aching back” hills, but if you’ve ever hiked the
steep Achenbach Trail, which winds through them,
your back will likely be aching). Beyond them,
30 | THECITYMAG.COM | APRIL 2013
welcome. Both beginning hikers and experienced
backpackers enjoy these trails. Maps are available
from the Forest Service offices in Dickinson
and Bismarck, at the Park’s Visitor Centers, and at
Western Edge Books in Medora.
The Long X Divide is one of five badlands areas
proposed for permanent wilderness protection. As
the oil industry moves closer and closer to our national
park boundaries, only that designation will
guarantee the integrity of our state’s most dramatic
skyline vista. You can learn more about how to protect
this and other endangered badlands skylines
by visiting www.badlandsconservationalliance.
org
Imagine working for 32 years in the oil industry
and then discovering that the past 18
months in North Dakota have been the most
rewarding of your career.
That’s what happened to Curt Dacar, the chief
executive officer of Denver based Rock Pile Energy
Services, who grew up in Scranton, N.D. and got
into the oil industry to help pay his way through
college.
“My desire was to go to college and someday
have my own business,” Dacar said. “In order to put
myself through college, I searched out a job in the
oil field, figuring that I could earn enough money
in a couple of years to put me through school and I
found the industry to be very challenging, dynamic,
and interesting.”
He ended up earning a Bachelors of Science in
Business Administration from Regis University in
Denver and then went on to get a Master’s degree in
petroleum engineering from Heriot Watt University
in Edinburgh, Scotland.
He then spent 32 years working for the largest
oil field services company in the world until coming
to Rock Pile Energy Services in 2011 and that’s
Jim Fuglie is a former North Dakota Tourism Director and has
Rock Pile Energy Services went from one employee on January 1, 2012
been exploring the back roads of the badlands since his first trip
along the entire southern City skyline Magazine of the Park, 2/13 is Crossword an
PuzzleJunction.com
to 78 by the end of the year.
there with his parents as a boy in 1959.
area known as the Long X Divide.
The Long X Divide is a 10,000 acre stretch of
Badlands bordering the south side of the park, Correction
owned by the U.S. Forest Service and extending the Oops, we accidentally posted the wrong crossword answers
viewshed for those who visit the park’s overlooks. in last month’s issue of Solution City Magazine. Below are the
This is the most spectacular view of the Little Mis-
crossword answers for the February issue of
City Magazine.
souri River Valley. It is often called the Grand Canyon
of the Little Missouri, a title it richly deserves.
The Long X Divide is one of those areas still
protected by the Forest Service from development,
as well it should be. It serves as a visual buffer
between the park and industrial development. To
mar that skyline would rob us of one of our state’s
most wondrous views and one of our truly unique
outdoor experiences—wilderness hiking.
Three primitive hiking trails meander through
this area: The Long X, the Summit and the famous
Maah Daah Hey. Primitive means no vehicle
access—hikers, horse riders and bicyclists are
W I C K A H E M F R A T S
I D L E H U L A L O I R E
L E A N A R I S T O C R A T
D A W N S A W S P A
E L S E E L A I N E
L O G O F F R E S E T
S E N R O A R L A V A
C R E S T F I T A L T E R
A G A R C O S T E R N
N O T E S S A I L E D
E V E N L Y E D G E
L E O T I N V E A L
A L L O T M E N T S O L L A
T I D A L C O A T T I L T
H A S T E A R M S E S S E
when the fun began. But who is Rock Pile Energy?
Rock Pile Energy is a company that was the vision
of Triangle Petroleum, who realized, as a small operator
in the Williston Basin, that getting fracking
services for their drilling program would be very
difficult. They could not spend $10 million to drill a
well and then wait forever on fracking services.
Instead they brought in additional resources into
the frack business to service their needs and hired
Dacar in September of 2011 to take the company
from a vision to deployment in less than one year.
“By the end of 2012 we were running 24/7,”
Dacar said, “and had grown from one to 78 people.”
And what has been the most rewarding part of his
job? Working with the next oil field generation by
passing along his knowledge and skills to the future
of the industry.
“I have a passion for teaching,” Dacar said. “And
I am very pleased to be able to see friends and family
members move back here and be part of energy
development in this great state.”
Kevin Holten is a writer for City Magazine.
WESTERN N.D.
CURT DACAR
THE MOST REWARDING YEARS BY FAR
APRIL 2013 | THECITYMAG.COM | 31