Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Thursday morning, July 23rd, we left Lewis & Clark State Park headed for Billings, Montana, but first we traveled through Theodore Roosevelt National Park in Medora, North Dakota on the western side of the state.

'On the road again'

We were blessed with good weather the entire trip.  It rained a couple of times, but after the downpours the sun came out again and none of our plans were spoiled.

I took a lot of pictures of the amazing terrain and landscape, but pictures don't do it justice. For full impact, you have to see it in person.

Theodore Roosevelt was a conservationist.  He went to the Dakota Territory in 1883 to hunt bison [buffalo].  After becoming president in 1901, he used his authority to protect wildlife and public lands by creating the United States Forest Service [USFS].  150 national parks were established, 51 federal bird reserves, 4 national game preserves, 5 national parks, and 18 national monuments.  During his presidency he helped establish 230 million acres of public lands, with 150 million acres set aside as national forests. 

Today, his legacy is found across the country.  There are six national park sites dedicated in part or whole to him.

The town of Medora is quaint and touristy.  It was in the low 90's the day we were there, so to say it was warm is an understatement!  But it was breezy and that helped.

A better view of the mountains behind the buildings in the photo above.

Theodore Roosevelt's statue.  He was 5' 10" tall.

We drove the scenic loop through the park and a herd of wild horses decided to cross the road knowing they had the right-of-way!  ;-)

After our scenic ride, we peeked in the windows of Theodore Roosevelt's log cabin.  It was quite modest, but his main ranch was Elkhorn, 35 miles north of Medora, and it had a larger and more private ranch house.

After getting an ice cream in Medora, we got back in our vehicles and drove to Billings, Montana.  

Driving through Montana was beautiful and picturesque.  Lots of mountains, and lots of cattle.  A Google search revealed Montana ranks third in cattle - 2.6 million - or 3 head of cattle for every person, plus 18,000 dairy cows.

We arrived in Billings around 9:00 p.m., had dinner at Olive Garden, and spent the night in a hotel.  It was a temporary stopping place.

to be continued...