Blogs from Theodore Roosevelt NP, North Dakota, United States, North America

Friday, May 18, 2012. A bit of rain around 2:00 a.m. pattered on the tent, but no wind. Birds sang late into the night all around us. Up and "at em" at 6:30 a.m. Tom and I had a good "stick to your bones" breakfast of my concoction of Potato crowns, Spam, Goose sausage (Tom supplied) Mozzarella and Colby cheese and Eggs all mixed together and wrapped in tin foil for warming on the grill. Some coffee and juice, loaded the bikes and headed back out to U.S. Highway 85 for the trip north to the CCC camp just south of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park's north unit...a left turn just before you cross the bridge. We unloaded the bikes, registered with our names and destination, and lifted the gate at mile post 97 of the ... read more

Day 1-2: Cottonwood Campground: Theodore Roosevelt National Park We leave Minnesota early and drive through torents of rain for 12 hours across Minnesota and North Dakota on I-94. We find a great campsite and decide to stay for 2 nights. Don is feeling pretty good after his surgery to replace the bone marrow of his femur with a titanium rod. There are bison in the campground including the biggest bull we had ever seen. We enjoyed a 36-mile scenic drive full of badland formations and wildlife. We saw several groupings of wild horses. It feels so wonderful to witness the freedom on our cherished wildlife. Erosion has worn away sand and clay and only the hardest materials remain, leaving the maize of colorful buttes and canyons. Roosevelt first came to the badlands in 1883 and became ... read more

Entry 13: Nature’s Politician: Teddy Roosevelt, July 31, 2010 If Yellowstone National Park is the heart of America, then Teddy Roosevelt National Park is the soul. If the North Dakota Badlands had not had such an impact of our former President, who first ventured there on a cattle-buying deal with a partner in 1883, then there’s a good chance that he would have not have started the “National Park” process going by establishing the Antiquities Act of 1906. Noting that the Plains’ large animals (buffalo in particular) were being depleted by mans’ hands in alarming numbers, one of Roosevelt’s strongest agendas was to begin to preserve similar primitive lands in America. In fact, he created 5 National Parks, and termed other lands “wildlife refuges,” allowing many to later become National Parks. Quite positive action from a ... read more

One of my last visits to Theodore Roosevelt National Park before I moved. So pretty. Animals were out and about. Also had more flowers with all the rain than I had remembered in previous years. Very, very pretty. I'll miss you, TR!... read more

Hey, we're in North Dakota. How many of you have ever said that? Hwy 85 north from Belle Fourche, SD, to I-94 in North Dakota is a 175-mile, mostly straight road with rolling prairie on either side from horizon to horizon, broken occasionally by buttes or rocky outcroppings. There are few trees, fewer houses, lots of cattle, sheep, some horses, and a good number of pronghorn antelope. The landscape is dotted now and then with big rolls of hay and the odd oil well pumping away. However, once you get into ND, there are more cultivated fields. We went to Theodore Roosevelt National Park at Medora, ND. We drove the 35 mile scenic loop. It looks a lot like South Dakota's badlands, but it is much greener, not as dry and dead-looking. We only saw ... read more