Theodore Roosevelt National Park - North Unit

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Theodore Roosevelt Nat'l Park-North Unit



After yesterday I concluded that Oscar had enough of the traveling so I left him in the camper for the morning. I headed up to the North Unit of the park which is 52 miles north. I debated about going but I really wanted to see it and the day was perfect. There was brilliant sunshine with a possibility of thunder showers in the afternoon but I planned to be back by 2 or 3 at the latest.

The speed limit on even the small 2 lane roads is 65 so I put the top down and cruised about 68. The road was a ribbon and everybody went the speed limit or better so no worries about passing. There is a lot of drilling going on out here and as a result small trailer parks have sprung up to accommodate the many employees. There was even a little settlement like portable classrooms but these buildings served as housing for the many men on the job.

There continued to be fields of wheat, hay already bailed in big round wheels, corn and rye, I think, also soybeans. I started gaining in elevation and noticed the wild flowers were a little later here, must be cooler.

When I reached the park the search for a restroom began. I was assured it was just 5 miles down the road at a picnic area but the speed limit in the park is 25. It must have disappeared because I sure couldn't find it but I did find a campground so I had an excuse to explore that. The campground has no electric but they do have restrooms, yeh!, and water you have to carry, not at each site. They did have a small dumpster at each site however, not feeding the bears. It was a beautiful, peaceful spot, flat area next to the Little Missouri River with Cottonwood trees providing shade and I think the leaves chattering in the wind are comforting. I would love to have stayed here but they didn't take reservations, first come first served basis, and I didn't want to be left without a site. There were many available, I'll know if there's a next time.

There were pull offs for points of interest and the first one I came to was the cannonball concretions. As the sandstone wears away in this area it left round hard balls that were hidden in the sandstone. They are made of a more dense rock but very round. Picture

Then there was the bison encounter. I came up over a hill and crossing the road was a herd of bison going at their own pace and sometime one at a time. Some didn't want to cross at all. There was a very large bull determined that she was going on the other side and I was hoping my car wasn't in her or his path. He kept sticking out his tongue and grunting at her, sure would make me move. There were a few other cars there by then and we all just enjoyed our close encounter with no mishaps.

The sun was coming and going and it made a big difference on the look of the rocks, so sometimes I had to wait for the shot to be right. The wildflowers were gorgeous and everywhere mixed in with the sea of prairie grasses.

The longhorn pull off was had nothing to show me. I was so looking forward to seeing the herd of longhorns that is in the park but it didn't happen. Always leave them wanting. There was however a Long X pullout which marked the trail of cattle from Texas to ND to be part of a ranch there. Picture

At the river bend pullout there was a story about Theodore catching up with thieves that had stolen his boat 24 miles upstream. He chased them that far and then made them walk to the nearest law where they were convicted of theft. Don't mess with Teddy.

He lived here in North Dakota at this now park when he was younger and frail from poor health. He credits his years living here making him the man he came to be. It's tough country, you have to be tough to survive, but he thrived.

We can all be very thankful to him for establishing the park system and saving these beautiful places forever.

My trip back home was easy but I did stop at the Painted Canyon area to see if I was missing something. It was beautiful but pretty much the same formations in the other 2 sections.

When I got back home Oscar was still asleep, got up reluctantly to say hello and where's my treat and would have been very happy to go back to bed but I took him outside to sit under the cottonwood tree and enjoy the afternoon breeze. We both loved it.

The rest of the day was just putter around camp and relax, we both need it.

The weather has been delightful, in the 70's this morning and about 80 this afternoon with a nice breeze. The nights cool down quit a bit, somewhere in the high 50s. Perfect.

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