Theodore Roosevelt National Park SOUTH UNIT

Scott is working and I'm heading to Theodore Roosevelt National Park to see the large section of the park and go to the two visitor centers there.  It was back in Medora, North Dakota and a 30 minute drive from Wibaux, Montana where we were staying.  Once I got to Medora, the park entrance we on my left and as I started looking to my left, lo and behold, there - in Medora - was an RV campground!  And, once I got online, I found yet another one in town, also and Medora isn't all that big!  Plus, the place was super cute with all kinds of fun shops and restaurants.

Getting into the park took a little bit of time because they were doing construction for about 6 miles in the park at the entrance.  This bogged up the parking lot and the park entrance where you show your park pass or pay your fees.  Once I passed the gate and got to the parking lot, that was torn up and some guy was trying to exit out of the in where I was - him in his truck and me in my dually.  It was tight maneuvering.  Why he didn't exit correctly is beyond me since the parking spots are slightly angled.

The visitor center was busy.  There were quite a few people here for the end of August.  The center is very nice with an info desk, shop and lovely museum that I really enjoyed.  There is also a what to do with how much time you have chart that was quite helpful.

This petrified wood was right in the middle of the visitor center.

It was nearly 10 a.m. when I got there and was just in time for a tour of the Maltese Cross Cabin.  So, I went outside and waited by the cabin until park ranger, Lincoln Eddy came.

Ranger Lincoln Eddy

I was the only one there so I got the private tour and history.  The first thing we did was sit on the log benches outside the cabin where he gave me a bit of info on Theodore Roosevelt with some laminated charts.  I got to copy them, so I'll tell you what I learned under each photo.

Theodore Roosevelt was born in 1858 in New York City. He enjoyed drawing birds and animals.
As a young boy, he had asthma so drawing was a quiet activity for him.
He had a love of zoology that started in his youth which continued all his life.
He was nicknamed "Teedie" by his family. In 1880, he married Alice Hathaway Lee.

Theodore Roosevelt had a dream to hunt buffalo.  He first came to the Badlands in Sept 8, 1883.
His wife, Alice was home pregnant with their first child, but Theodore really had to come. No one really showed interest in helping him until he offered money where upon Joe Ferris acted as his hunting guide.
When Roosevelt learned that most of the bison were gone due to over hunting, this caused him to reflect.
He did get his bison and returned home on Sept 23, 1883, but not before he decided he wanted to raise cattle
in the badlands since it was a booming business in the 1880s with no bison. Determined that he wanted a ranch, he put down $14,000 for Ferris and Merrifield to build the Maltese Cross Cabin.

Roosevelt's Gun

Roosevelt in his buckskins and rifle.

At the birth of his daughter, Alice Lee Roosevelt, his happiness was short lived.
His wife, died two days later due to an undiagnosed case of kidney failure which was masked by the pregnancy.
His mother, who had typhoid fever, living in the home, also died that exact same day!
He wrote in his diary,
X
The light has gone out of my life
After the death of his mother and wife on the same day, Theodore was distraught.
He left his daughter in care of his sister Bamie in New York City while he went back to North Dakota - the place he felt alive. He returned three years later to care for his daughter.

After returning to his beloved Badlands and the Maltese Cross Cabin 7 miles south of Medora and on the property of the Elkhorn Ranch.  His time as a ranch owner was short because in the winter of 1886-1887, the winter was so harsh that 1/2 of the cattle had died from starvation with -41 below temperatures and snow.
Some cattle were frozen where they stood while others were found in trees climbing snow banks to reach any kind of foot out of trees.  Others ate the roofs off buildings!

During his time in office, President Roosevelt wanted to save natural resources of our country - especially in the west.  This map shows all the parks and natural areas that he put under protection for people to enjoy. This is 250 MILLION acres of land he conserved including Yosemite, Mesa Verde, Crater Lake, Wind Cave, Devils Tower, El Morro, Montezuma Castle, Petrified Forest, Lassen, Gila Cliff Dwellings, Tonto, Muir Woods, Grand Canyon, Pinnacles, Jewel Cave, Natural Bridges, Lewis & Clark Caverns, and Tumacacori.

Roosevelt's Maltese Cross Cabin has been taken to multiple World's Fairs.
Each log was taken apart and numbered. Today it stands at Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

Now, that you know a little bit of history (and you can see a full biography here if you're interested), we toured the tiny cabin.  Here's the exterior first.

Notice the Maltese Cross in the log?

The interior is divided into two sections with a hallway down the middle.  As you enter on the left is two rooms.  The first room is his bedroom with bed, chest, trunk and wash basin.  Sorry about the glass - it's shiny and dirty.

The last room on the left side is the kitchen.  It had an iron stove - a rarity during this time period.  There was also a back door out of the kitchen (it's the photo above with the white door handle).

Across the hallway was one large gathering room with dining table, writing desk, pot bellied stove and rocking chairs.

Here is Ranger Avery and I in the middle of the house.

After the tour of the Maltese Cross, I went back into the visitor center to see the exhibits.  Those were equally impressive.

The objects which dress the sculpture of Theodore Roosevelt
and his horse are authentic - owned and used by Roosevelt.

This is my favorite photo of him and John Muir.

I was so impressed with what I learned about Roosevelt and there is SO MUCH more to the man.  I would suggest a biography or autobiography about the man at some point in your reading materials.  Now, I got in the truck and decided to tour the entire south end of park.  Here's a map that I marked up.  The pink is where the bison were today.  The pink circles are GREAT short hikes that MUST be done!  The green are other neat scenic views.

So, when I started the drive, from the visitor center to the Cottonwood area on the map was completed closed down with one lane of travel making for a long wait time.  I decided to do the park the Native American way - clockwise.  I kept to the left fork and one of the first things I saw about where Peaceful Valley Ranch is was a pronghorn sheep.

I continued the drive toward Beef Corral Bottom where there was a HUGE herd of buffalo at what is marked Prairie Dog Town.  The best part was that there were a bunch of young bulls running around stirring the dust.  I was too far away for some sharp photos but loved what I got anyway.  I think I must have sat there for at least a half hour just admiring the animals.  There must have been at least 150 in the herd - possibly more.  I stopped counting at 125 and still had many to go.  Pink dots below are the 3 places the bison were - the big oval one is where the herd was.  Circles are must see and do hikes.

Here's a movie of the bison!

I continued around toward Wind Canyon Trail.  The hill formations were stunning.  It seemed like every few minutes was something equally interesting to see.  One side of the road is jagged rock and the other side hills and valleys.

At Wind Canyon Trail, I would strongly suggest you take this hike and possibly hike to the top of the mountain, too.  The scenery of the valley and Little Missouri River was sensational!  You could see the herd of buffalo in the distance.  It's like your in Bryce Canyon and then as you keep walking the scene changes to open lands with million dollar views!

Once, I finished there, I wanted to head to Boicourt Overlook and Trail.  I had heard this was an outstanding place to visit and I wanted to see it for myself.  As I rounded the bend by Jules Creek, there on the side of the road was a big honkin' bison laying by the side of the road.  He looked old to me - maybe even sickly - but I enjoyed seeing him up close and personal.  He was chewing but his eyes were closed.

Here's a movie of this cutie!

As I drove, my eagle eyes caught another animal tucked in the mountain.

Do you see it?

Some kind of deer.

Onward I continued to Boicourt Overlook.  Let me tell you, I think this has the greatest views of the entire park.  Even the trail made me a little dizzy because at the end, you are on a ledge and you get a little weak in the knees!  The photos don't do this place justice - the views are magnificent!  The sign said to plan 15 minutes, but I'd suggest at least 30!  It's an easy hike - it's just the views are stunning.  You can literally see across the entire park with ridges, angles, dried up springs, people, horses, it's all there!  There must have been a fire there recently, because there were quite a bit of dead trees, but I think it added to the charm of this rugged land.

Here's a video of Boicourt Trail Overlook.

Well, I soon left there and drove over to Buck Hill.  It's quite a steep, very short hike there.  After that I decided to get going because I still wanted to get to Painted Canyon Visitor Center.  I decided to stop at the restroom first and just as soon as I did and get out of the car, lo and behold there were two cows and two calves laying right on the road next to the restroom!  One of the mama's did a roll and I could get a better photo of the second calf lying behind her.  What luck!

I took a couple other photos at the last couple overlooks and Prairie Dog Town and then headed out.

Next stop was Painted Canyon Visitor Center.  This is on the far southeast side of the park right on I-94, so it's an easy on and off.  It's a simple visitor center with an info center, bookstore, and a lovely overlook of the park.  This visitor center had a nice time-line of Roosevelts' life along with some great books about him.

Battles were once fought in these lands as well.  Who knew?!

Well, it's been great here!  I think this is one of my favorite parks - for the bison, the scenery and history.  It's a mix of 3-4 different parks all rolled into one.  I've really gained a great appreciation of President Roosevelt, his forethought and character in preserving our country's natural beauty and heritage.  And, what a tribute to him to have a national park named in his honor (Nov. 10, 1978).  Next stop - the Hardin KOA in Hardin, Montana and visits to Little Big Horn Battlefield (Custer's Last Stand) and Yellowfin Dam as part of Big Horn Canyon National Rec Area.  See ya next time!