September 7th - 10th, Medora ND and Theodore Roosevelt NP

Saturday-Tuesday September 7-10 Medora ND and Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Saturday - Rain the whole drive today to Medora.  Good thing we had stopped at the Painted Canyon visitor Center on the

way to the Medora Musical on Thursday because
today between the fog and the rain you can't see anything.  Took a detour down the 21 mile Enchanted highway (Gladstone to Regent) to see the huge metal sculptures.  A local guy started this years ago to try to detour some summer traffic through the towns off the highway.  We saw geese in flight, deer crossing the road, prairie chickens (aka ring necked pheasants), a stage

coach stop, grass hoppers in the wheat, and a fishing
scene.  They were pretty cool from what we could tell through the driving rain.  It was hard to get pictures of the ones on Tony's side of the road since that is the direction the rain was coming from.  When he rolled down his window I got wet sitting in the passenger seat!  The town of Regent, at the end of the highway, pretty much closed up after Labor day.  The lone gas station and a small

hardware store were the only businesses we saw open and the bar did not open until 4, so no hot toddies for us.    Even with the detour we had plenty of time to get set up at camp and make it to Saturday evening mass at St. Mary which was held in community center for the summer.  As we hit the last Saturday of summer, next week mass moves back to the historic church in town.  A bonus for attending mass at the community center auditorium was comfy theater seating.

Sunday - North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt park is about 68 miles away, mostly north of

Medora.  We reasoned that since the weather
was a little overcast we might as well sit in the truck versus spending a nice day driving later in the week.  The scenic drive here is just 14 miles long one way but stopping at the designated highlights like the Riverbend and Oxbow Overlooks and short walks gives you extra time to appreciate the beauty that captivated a 24 year old Teddy Roosevelt.  We did see our share of

buffalo and even had an animal traffic jam
where we had to sit and wait for about half an hour for the bison herd to decide which side of the road they wanted to be on.  They enjoyed scratching their heads and backs on the guard rails and posts.  One younger male was even a little frisky and not shy about how many cars or other bison were viewing.  I also got some pretty good video of a larger bison rolling on the ground, taking

a sand shower at another location in the park.  Along the
river we strolled the Little Mo Nature walk checking out the plaques telling about the berries and trees that thrive along the banks of the Little Missouri River including Buffalo Berries which we found out are edible.  The rounded concrete like bowling ball formations (cannonball concretions) were another cool geological feature we saw.  We had packed a lunch and thought we
could find a picnic area overlooking the river but did
not run across any in between the time our stomachs started growling and the park exit.  Bummed at the lack of a suitable lunch vista we headed back to camp but just across the river we saw a sign for a CCC camp area.  Taking a gamble down the red dirt road with more than a little mud from the recent rains we were able to find a great spot looking back at the North Unit of Teddy

Roosevelt Park.  It was a camp built and used by CCC workers when the park roads and trails were being constructed and is still in use as a primitive camping location.  The wind was a little blustery but we were able to use the truck as a wind block as we sat in our chairs and used the tailgate as a table.  Our snack lunch (sausage, cheese, crackers, apples) was quite fun as we watched the bluebirds flit around.  The view of the bridge across the river back to the park was great.  Hey, sometimes you have to get a little mud on the tires!  Isn't that how the song goes. 

Monday - South Unit - Today we headed to the closer more popular South Unit of
Teddy Roosevelt National Park.  As we drove this 36 mile loop and stopped at the various pullouts and over looks we really appreciated the forward thinking of conservationists and outdoorsmen like Teddy Roosevelt.  Because of them we have these beautiful, national treasures, our National Parks, to use and enjoy the grandeur our country has to offer.  By the way we learned that Theodore Roosevelt National Park is the only National Park named after a person!  Just goes to show how important and instrumental he was in founding our National Parks system.  Tony and I took a count last week and realized that we have been to about half of our National Parks.  In addition we have visited several National Lakeshores, many National Monuments, and driven through countless National Forests and National Grasslands.  

Today we spotted turkeys, bison, prairie dogs, a tiny frog,
and about a dozen wild horses.  Wild horses certainly look shaggy and unkempt compared to farm or stable horses.  The elk and bighorn sheep have still eluded us.  At places like Skyline Vista, Medora Overlook, Wind Canyon, and Buck Hill, relatively short to moderate walks led us to amazing views of the vast landscape that the park encompasses including great views of the twisting turning Little Missouri River.  At

Buck Hill the highest (2855 ft) accessible point in the
park, we saw wide sweeping views of the "BadLands" rock formations.  Our truck looked pretty small from the top of the short steep walk up.  Along the Wind Canyon Trail we even ran into a gentleman doing some painting.  The views here of the twists and turns in the river and into the canyon were some of the prettiest in the park.  Originally we had thought to do a few longer hikes in the

parks but there has been so much rain that there have been
signs posted that the trails are wet and muddy and advised caution as the rocks can be slippery.  So we stuck to the shorter nature trails and scenic overlooks that had better drainage. 

Back at camp after a long day of touring we enjoyed chicken and black bean enchiladas.  I had the filling cooking in the crock pot while we were gone so it was a simple matter of putting the filling in the shells adding sauce and cheese and baking for a shirt bit. 

Tuesday - Today we decided to just sit and be.  Just relax and enjoy the park as Teddy
Roosevelt did the 1880's after his wife and mother died on the same day.  He came from New York to grieve and regroup.  Eventually after his ranches failed due to drought and blizzards and he witnessed over hunting and overgrazing, conservation became a priority.  Originally our intent was to head to the first campground near the South Unit entrance.  However the campground picnic area was a little overgrown and no good scenery or views except long grass.  We saw a few more bison, more prairie dogs, and a coyote as we headed back to the Skyline Vista.   

In chairs that we hauled down the trail to the overlook, we sat and read and chatted with lots of people as we ate our lunch.  There were people from Toledo OH, Chandler AZ, dads and daughters, newly retired people and long some retired,  their first time and repeat visitors.  It was pretty cool to see how many people were getting out to enjoy their parks!  After lunch and tired of reading when the wind picked up, we went to checkout decor at the Rough Rider Hotel and end of season sales at one of the lone remaining open gift stores in town.   Later I grilled the Lake superior white fish and new potatoes we had picked up in Bayfield, Wisconsin and sautéed spinach.  Rain again! Most outside stuff  put away but that still leaves the water hose and electrical cords and it's supposed to rain all night and most of the day tomorrow.  My rain boots will get another workout!  Campground is pretty empty as it closes on Saturday Sept 14 for the season.