The Last Leg...

What a way to finish a blog…
Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Theodore Roosevelt became a conservationist after visiting the Dakota Territory in the late 1800's and seeing how the overgrazing of cattle was destroying the natural habitat for small mammals and songbirds. He also saw the destruction of some large game species. Although an avid hunter himself, he realized that land needed to be preserved and that species needed to be protected.
While President, he established the U.S. Forest Service, proclaimed 18 national monuments, had Congress appropriate funds for five national parks, 51 wildlife refuges and set aside land for national forests. When you have the opportunity to visit national parks and monuments you appreciate the foresight that leaders had in those days. Who would have imagined 110 years ago that we would have a population of 310 million people and that we would have to protect the vast land that was relatively unpopulated at the time? It is amazing, to say the least.
The land dedicated to Teddy has a north and south unit. The north unit has about 50,000 visitors per year and the south has 250,000 visitors annually. The north is not easily accessed whereas the south unit is found on I-94. Since we were coming from the north, we were able to visit both this trip. Sadly, the weather did not cooperate with the north visit. It was overcast and downright cold. Also, only six of the fourteen mile loop was traversable. Nevertheless, we captured some awesome landscapes. You can almost imagine Teddy Roosevelt sitting on a horse, looking over the bluff and the immense land below him. While we were taking pictures of the visitor center at the north unit, the grassy ground around it was mysteriously uneven with small craters. We went back into the visitor center to ask if they could be hoof impressions from the bison. Yes, they were. The ranger said the bison come right up to the door on a daily basis. While we were getting exit the north section, we noticed a bison standing right next to a park sign. The sign was probably four or five feet high. We stopped and watched, curious as to why the critter was standing so close to the sign. He began using the post as a scratching device, turning and twisting to scratch his back. It was hilarious.
We left the north unit and began the 63 mile trek to the south side. Along the way, we saw multiple natural gas pumps. This land is chockful of natural resources: oil shale, natural gas and beautiful soil to farm and graze.



The south is much larger and has a 36 mile loop drive where visitors are treated to wildlife, vistas and unusual rock formations. We saw black tailed prairie dogs (only living at TR National Park), wild horses and buffalo. The elevations varied so that you could see for miles at times. The Little Missouri River ambles through the park, providing added beauty.
At the edge of the park is the small town of Medora, named for the wife of a French settler, Marquis de Mores. He wanted to live in the area and built his New York City wife a 27 room chateau to persuade her. Hey, does that still work??? He convinced the railroad to run track to his town and he opened a meat packing plant. The town is now a tourist trap of sorts, combining history, eating establishments, hotels and gift shops.
Between the two parks, we probably spent 6 hours. We ate our breakfast overlooking one scene in the north unit and lunch overlooking another scenic in the south. What a country!
Once back on I-94, we punched Bismarck in the Garmin and headed east. Bismarck is an extremely unique capitol building. It resembles a skyscraper, towering over the city. The tower is on the right side and a rotunda of sorts is on the left. The grounds of the capitol are well manicured and because we arrived after 5 PM, there was little traffic to worry about. There were the standard statues and monuments on the grounds, including one dedicated to the military and another dedicated to a female Indian explorer named Sacajawea. She was only sixteen when she married a French explorer named Charbonneau. They had a child together. Lewis and Clark met them and wanted them to join them in their expedition west. Sacajawea knew the territory and landmarks and was invaluable when Lewis and Clark tried to negotiate with the Shoshone Indians and other tribes for things they needed, such as horses. The Indians realized quickly that the explorers were peaceful when they saw Sacajawea. She traveled with them with her baby in tow. She died in 1812, at the young age of 24. Incredible story. Imagine someone doing that today?
We left the capital city and punched in Minneapolis/St. Paul. It is 376 miles away and we know we won’t be there until tomorrow, but we wanted to get some more miles under our belt before the day was over. While driving on I-94, both sides of the road were filled with enormous fields of crops. When we say enormous, we mean enormous. It is not an exaggeration to say that we would see at least a mile of sunflowers in a field that was probably a half mile wide. The same could be said about corn, soybeans and wheat. While farms near us are large, they would be postage stamps compared to these immense, crop-filled properties. When you think of North Dakota, you think cold, period. The summer provides warm days and perfect soil for bountiful crops.
We also noticed the ravages of the spring flooding that occurred in North Dakota. We saw fields inundated with water. We saw trees fully submerged save, the top three or four feet. We saw fences lines disappear in the water. We saw electrical and telephone poles half way in the water.
We will close our story at this point. It has been a great trip and hope you have enjoyed traveling with us.
Tomorrow we will take a few shots in Minneapolis/St. Paul and then do some heavy duty driving through the Upper Peninsula, across the Mac and then home. We will have traveled 4,900 miles¸ visited ten states and six national parks (along with 500,000 motorcyclists!). Thanks for riding with us!

Click any image to enlarge