We are staying at Medora Campground, about ½ mile from the entrance to the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park; what a treat to be so close, and surrounded by such incredible views! We took a walk after we finished setting up, to check out the scenery! And Saturday night, with clear skies and no light pollution, we could see lots and lots of stars!

I woke up Sunday morning to 34-degree temperatures…brr! I guess that’s why this campground closes for the season on October 1^st…it gets cold very quickly here in North Dakota. But the temps climbed and we had sunny, blue skies to enjoy! The morning was pretty quiet – a chance to recover from all the driving the last couple of days, and the added stress of our truck issues. After lunch, we took the very short drive to the National Park, used Mark’s ‘senior lifetime pass’ for entry (the best deal ever – a definite perk to turning 62!), and headed to the visitor center. We watched an interesting film with some history and background on the park. Theodore Roosevelt first visited the area in his 20s and it began a lifelong love for the area and for cattle ranching. It also helped him recover from the devastating loss of both his wife and his mother on the same day.

“I have always said I never would have been President if it had not been for my experiences in North Dakota.”

– Theodore Roosevelt, 1918

The park consists of three units; we spent Sunday touring the South Unit’s 36-mile scenic drive. We saw so much wildlife – lots of bison, several groups of wild horses, a coyote, and some mule deer. But mostly we saw prairie dogs. There are several “prairie dog ranches” along the scenic drive, and it’s just incredible to see them all scampering around, standing watch, and scurrying into their holes. And, in some cases, fighting over food. Hilarious!

The leaves are starting to change color, so in addition to the amazing colors of the landscape, there are shades of yellow and gold on the trees to add to the spectacular scene.

We did a couple of short hikes, out to some especially beautiful vistas. The weather was incredible, truly a perfect fall day (albeit a bit windy).

It’s so hard to come up with enough adjectives to describe the diverse beauty of the park – I can’t count how many times I said “WOW” during the course of the day, as we would come around a curve and see yet another stunning panorama. This is such a gem of a park, yet is probably one of the most overlooked & underrated. It’s such a fitting tribute to a president who did so much for conservation and fought vigorously for National Parks & Monuments.

“There can be no greater issue than that of conservation. Just as we must conserve our men, women, and children, so we must conserve the resources of the land on which they live.”

– Theodore Roosevelt, 1912

On Monday, which also happened to be Mark’s 65^th birthday, we decided it would be best to stay in Medora and not make the 1-hour drive to the North Unit – just in case the truck decided to have any more issues before the full repair is made on Tuesday. So we walked around the town, had lunch at “Boots Bar & Grill”, and checked out the remains of a slaughterhouse that was built here in the late 1800s.

And, because we are in cowboy land, we decided to visit the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame. It’s a interesting little place, full of cowboy history as well as Native American history. We watched a couple of films about rodeos and the history of the area, and walked through the galleries. I was so impressed by the workmanship that goes into the saddles, and by the intricate detail on some of the Native American pieces on display.

Medora sits on the Great Western Trail which runs from Texas into Canada and is the route that over seven million cattle and horses took in the development of the cattle industry.

We finished out the day watching the Bills destroy the Jaguars on Monday Night Football game. Because we are in the Mountain time zone, it started at 5:30pm. The typical Sunday 1pm games start here at 11am – weird! It seems appropriate to watch the Bills while in North Dakota; we saw so many real-life Bills logos at the National Park yesterday!

It was a unique birthday for Mark, for sure…I don’t think he ever dreamed he’d spend a birthday in North Dakota. I got to spend mine on a Rhine River Cruise, and he got to spend his in Medora, North Dakota. Seems fair.

Tuesday was the big day – we traveled about 30 minutes to Dickinson ND, to Red Rock Ford, for our noon appointment. I think we were both a little nervous we’d get there and find out that the part hadn’t arrived or that there was some other issue, but fortunately, it all went very smoothly and by 1:15pm, we were out of there with a shiny new tube free of holes! After a quick Walmart run for essentials, we decided to make the trek to the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park…a little over an hour from Dickinson. It’s interesting that the North Unit is in Central Time, and the South Unit is in Mountain Time. How odd and confusing. Anyway, we did most of the scenic drive through the park, and a couple of the overlooks are truly spectacular. The most fascinating area is where the Cannonball Concretions are found. Apparently, these round objects were formed within the sedimentation, and have slowly been exposed over time. Some have been fully exposed and lie on the ground now, while others are still ‘attached’ and only partly exposed. So cool! They are as smooth as can be, and cannonball is really an accurate name for them.

The River Bend Overlook is known as the view that launched the park. This spot was always known for its stunning beauty although no one knew if it would be a state park or something more…until it was officially designated a National Park in 1978.

And so much more scenery in the North Unit, some of it similar to the South Unit and some different!

We made the trip back to our campground, had dinner, and then returned to the South Unit to watch the sunset from the Skyline Vista overlook. On this trip, we saw so many mule deer along the road. The sunset was beautiful and added so many more colors to the landscape. Glad we took the opportunity to do this!

“It was here that the romance of my life began” – Teddy Roosevelt, in reference to North Dakota

So our time in North Dakota is wrapping up, and there are a few things that will stick in my mind about this Great Plains state….

• The random appearance of oil rigs and wind turbines.
• There are lots of sunflower fields – they’re dead, of course, but must be beautiful when in bloom.
• There are cattle everywhere.
• The massive number of hay bales, rolled and placed randomly along the roadside.
• The incredible colors of the earth – so vibrant and varied.
• As remote as it is, we were surprised that we had a pretty decent cell signal at all times.
• It’s dry. Very dry.
• The unbelievable beauty of the North Dakota Badlands and TRNP.
• The kind and friendly people we met everywhere – and they don’t talk funny like the movie “Fargo” would have you believe.
• It’s a much more beautiful state than I ever would have expected; it’s a wonderful place to visit but I would never want to live there…too remote and desolate for me!

Our journey on Wednesday took us on a US Highway for most of the trip…talk about a road through the middle of nowhere. We went through maybe two very small towns…it was just open plains and farmland everywhere. One of the “towns” we drove through, Amidon, has a population of 24 people and is the second-smallest county seat in the country. And there was hardly any traffic, so we felt like we were all alone out there. We are so glad the truck was fixed before we did this drive – it would have been VERY stressful on these remote roads with a ‘temporary’ fix! It was quite hilly, too, so it gave the truck quite a workout, hauling the trailer up and down these roads. We stopped at a travel plaza (the only one we saw), and I had to laugh when I saw this sign…

And we have arrived in South Dakota. This isn’t a new state for us…we visited in 2010 with Connor, and we’re excited to see some new places and make return visits to a few favorite spots…stay tuned!