SUSAN: Another early morning, woke at 5 am. It was time to leave “MyPlace” - the Airbnb / motel we have been staying in for the last two nights. It was clean and definitely not fancy . We had to take everything out of the fridge and repack the cooler and picnic basket.
JAMES: Woke up to 49 degrees again. Found out that we can get into the park early. Turns out that the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt is on Mountain Time while the Northern Unit is on Central Time. We are right on the line.
A 35 minute drive to the park entrance. Since the visitor’s center didn’t open until 9 am, we decided to go ahead and tour the park right away. There is a 37 mile loop inside the park with many scenic vista and short walks. The South Unit is different from the North. The terrain is not nearly as steep nor has the dramatic river valley. It does have significant Badlands. When you start the drive, the first thing that you do is drive along the Little Missouri River.
The first stop is a prairie dog village. There are hundreds of prairie dogs. It seemed like most were out of the holes. They are wary so if you get close to them, they whistle and duck down their holes. They are fun to watch but it’s tough to get a close shot.
Moving on, we immediately came upon a small herd of bison meandering up the road towards us. When they are that close you just have to video.
From there we climbed up and up to one of the spectacular vistas.
After a few pictures as I was heading back to the car, I noticed two bison about 50 feet away on the side of the road. One was wallowing in the dirt. We hurried to get a shot. We pulled up next to him. He just laid there and stared at Susan. Sometimes they don’t cooperate.
After a few more stops, we decided to hike on the Jones Creek Trail. it’s a trail that cuts across the park for 13 miles. That was too much for us but we did a really nice 3 miles out and back following the bison track along lathe creek.There were several interesting formations and tons of flowers in bloom. We returned to the car and continued our excursion. Made a few more stops before completing our circuit.
SUSAN: The Theodore Roosevelt National Park South Unit Visitor Center has an excellent exhibit dedicated to Teddy Roosevelt and a great movie that covers the park’s establishment and its profound impact on his character. This experience played a pivotal role in shaping his path to the presidency.
The South Unit is in the town of Medora which is really just there to service tourists. It has a Cowboy Hall of Fame and a we think there was a contest of some kind happening. There were lots of kids with sashes on. It was strange because both the North and South Unit visitor centers could not sell merchandise. Normally they have all kinds of things in the gift shops with the National Parks Passport stamps, etc. I could get a stamp but could not buy stickers. I had to go to a different store in Medora to buy stickers.
JAMES: The visitor center elaborated on Teddy Roosevelt’s time in Medford and the Badlands. They still have the original cabins that he built and occupied on his trips there. Eventually politics took up so much of his time out east that he finally sold the cabin and his ranches. We watched a short movie about the park and the native flora and fauna. The footage was beautiful, the narrator’s voice soothing and the soft classical music calming. Soon I was fast asleep. Still, the part that I watched was great!
Walked a few blocks to downtown Medora. Medora is a pseudo western tourist trap with many candy stores, ice cream shops and gift shops. There is also the official National Cowboy Museum. There was some kind of cowboy event going on so we didn’t dawdle.
Before leaving town, we wanted to check out the brand new Theodore Roosevelt Library Building that is part of the national park experience. It is still under construction built high up on a bluff overlooking the town and the Little Missouri River with spectacular views. The architecture is really interesting with many sustainable features built in. It’s got a sod roof and a large array of solar panels. It sits on the edge of the bluff with fantastic views of the river valley and badlands beyond. It is not currently open. The official opening is July 4 and there seems to be an almost frantic flurry of activity to get it done. There were dozens of big pickup trucks and heavy equipment. A beehive of activity. The bluff top complex of buildings is also home to the Medora Musical. We had seen multiple signs promoting it but weren’t sure what it was. It turned out to be the nightly summer home of the Teddy Roosevelt Musical performance. Can’t say that I’m familiar with the songs, but it must be a big draw. Because it was under construction, we couldn’t get close but got a few pictures.
Finally it was time to hit the road for Rapid City, our destination hotel for the night. We had to drive east a few miles to pick up Highway 85 south. Highway 85 cuts across the endless grasslands of this corner of North Dakota all the way into Nebraska. It’s straight as an arrow with endless long vistas and the occasional small butte. It could be construed as boring to the everyday person but I find the emptiness and expansive green fields beautiful. Finally spotted Pronghorns!
SUSAN: We almost missed our hotel as I had put in the incorrect Comfort Inn and Suites to my phone. I saw Summerset and a Comfort Inn and thought, huh, I wonder if this is it? But my map was telling me another 7 miles. We decided to turn around and go back to that one and sure enough that was it. It was a very nice large room which was a nice change of pace from our very small unit at “MyPlace.” The guy at the front desk was Eastern European and was a little hard to understand. His name was Karman. We were looking for a place to eat and he recommended Grub & Pub. It specialized in burgers. I had the steak tips and fries. It was very good. Back to the room and early to bed.