THEODORE ROOSEVELT NATIONAL PARK

 

 

 At this point in time, our Spring road trip is winding down and we're ready to get back to places that feel like home and people we miss.  As a result, we really didn't give ourselves enough time to thoroughly explore Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  But we loved what we did see.  The entry to the South unit of the Park was about 30 miles from where we were staying in Dickenson.  When we got within a couple miles of the entry, the terrain changed from the gentle, flat farmland that is most of the State of North Dakota to beautiful rocky formations and chasms.  The Missouri River did a pretty darn good job of carving here.

We took some easy hikes and saw some beautiful scenery.  This is a view of Painted Canyon just on the Park's edge, near the town of Medora.   In the distance are the North Dakota badlands.  (The South Dakota Badlands are another National Park.)  We took a short trail hike here.

We also stopped at several other places for short hikes. This Park has the clearest air of all the National Parks.  (I wonder if this might not be true of the whole State of North Dakota as well.  Not too many people and not too much industry here.)  

 

 

 

We saw some wildlife.  There are quite a few prairie dog villages and  several herds of wild feral horses whose ancestors have roamed these lands for centuries.  (The one below is standing in the Little Missouri river bottomland.) 

We also saw quite a few bison.  (But nothing like what we saw last year at Custer State Park, in ND's neighbor to the South.)  (Click on the blue if you love bison/buffalo pictures as much as we do!)

We learned some history.

This is the cabin where Teddy Roosevelt lived during his time in North Dakota.  The cabin has been moved to the Park's main visitor center from its original location, the Elkhorn Ranch unit of the park, which is less accessible. When he lived at the Elkhorn, Teddy led a simple rancher's life.  He learned about the badlands and nature and let the beauty and quiet of the area heal him from the recent death of his wife and mother at their home in New York.   Roosevelt came to North Dakota to recover.  He said later that he would never have been President if not for the time he had spent in North Dakota.  As President, TR was instrumental in establishing National Park legislation.  He wanted all Americans to experience some of what he felt about these beautiful spaces.

 

We are always happy when we can see another one of our National Parks and we'd like to explore this one again sometime.