Ten acres of land surrounding Writing Rock were acquired in 1936 by the State Historical Society of North Dakota and will be developed as a State park.
SIDE TOUR 4B
Junction US 85—New England—Mott—Carson—Flasher—Junction ND 6.
ND 21. Junction with US 85 to junction ND 6, 126.5 m.
N. P. Ry. branch line roughly parallels route from Mott to Flasher; Milwaukee R. R. branch between New England and Elgin.
Graveled roadbed except for 11 m. of graded dirt.
Hotel and tourist camp facilities limited in most towns; many natural camping places along the Cannonball River.
Traversing the northern part of the Missouri Slope, this route passes through what was ranch land, now used for diversified farming. Most of the land adjacent to the route is underlain with deposits of lignite, and on many farms the winter's fuel is easily obtained by a little digging. Dominating the general rolling terrain are jagged, mesa-like hills capped with brown sandstone formations. Gentle, grass-covered slopes, whose rich spring green turns to amber in the fall, rise to steeper hillsides, above which jumbled, broken, weathered rocks lead to the steep cliffs crowning the flat mesas.
Trees are few along this route, except for the tiny groves on occasional farms, and the woods and bushes that edge the Cannonball River and its tributary creeks.