Rolling Along With The Reynolds

Jim and Cindy's Adventure Blog traveling all over the USA

Tag: Medora

Grasslands & Badlands

 

Beyond the two distinct Units of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota was impressive. Not at the start however. Leaving  the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota, we traveled straight north up Hwy 85 and it became flat, green, and flat and green. Not much else.  
The Crossings Campground in Belfield ND wasn’t our first choice of sites, but after seeing the originally intended place (Juniper drydock Campground smack inside the North unit of Theodore Roosevelt Park) it was a good choice. Close to Medora (gateway town outside of the South Unit), and close to Dickinson (in case we needed provisions and such) afforded us a more central home base.  
we stayed four days in North Dakota; one day for the South, one day for the North, and one day to drive the fun and quirky Enchanted Highway.

North Dakota picture album

 

near Medora, North Dakota

What a trippy place. Theodore Roosevelt National Park contains three Units. The South Unit felt so remote, so peaceful, and so surreal.  Unfortunately, only a small portion of the roads were open due to harsh winter and recent rains left culverts and such in need of repair. But we went until no further to the point of Wind Canyon Trail.
After a day in the Park, we cruised the town of Medora and stopped to fill our bellies with yummy pizza. The town was still sleeping since the popular Musical in this touristy but fun place doesn’t open curtain until next week.
On the way home from Medora to Belfield (15 miles to the East in the relatively flat grasslands) we made sure to view the Painted Canyon. Wow, what a view at the perfect golden hour too!
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I can see why Teddy Roosevelt felt such a strong fondness for this area.

He first came to the Dakota Territory in 1893 to hunt bison. A year later, devasted by personal tragedy (his mother died of Typhoid and his wife died in childbirth – on the very same day), he returned to grieve and lose himself in the vastness. He became a cattle rancher and, in this broken land, found adventure, purpose, wholeness. His love for the rugged beauty of the land brought him back time and again for the rest of his life.

Roosevelt credited his Dakota experiences as the basis for his groundbreaking preservation efforts and the shaping of his own character. As president 1901-09, he translated his love of nature into law. He established the US Forest Service and signed the 1906 Antiquities Act, under which he proclaimed 18 national monuments. He worked with Congress to create five national parks, 150 national forests, and dozens of federal reserves – over 230 million acres of protected land.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park was not the great man’s own creation. It was established in 1947 as a national memorial park to honor President Roosevelt and to provide a place for us to experience his beloved Badlands.

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“I have always said I never would have been President if it had not been for my experiences in North Dakota“.  – Theodore Roosevelt, 1918

 Pics of the South Unit, Medora, and Painted Canyon