The next day, we (sadly) said goodbye to the State of South Dakota and headed North on US 85 for 204 miles (3 hrs. 15 min. drive time) to Medora, North Dakota
We spent two nights at the AmericInn Hotel, 75 E. River Road S., Medora, ND. At the time, this was the only available hotel in Medora. It was nice but more than a little strange. Our room had a giant sunken tub in it (FYI: The tub was not located in the bathroom)! The tub was right in the corner of our bedroom…by the television!! Yep! I guess they do not have a whole lot to do in this very remote section of North Dakota! LOL! (I guess that way you can watch more than one show going on in your room at one time?) I could go on with a lot more "one-liners" but, I guess, I will keep it clean and leave it at that! LOL! And, to me, it is funny that Medora, ND is actually known for their wonderful annual Musicals and Shows in their "outdoor" Amphitheater. Unfortunately, we missed the famous outdoor show by only one day! (Go figure!) Sometimes, you miss stuff because you arrive too early or too late in a town! That's part of life…besides, we only stopped in Medora, ND, to do one thing…Visit our next National Park: Theodore Roosevelt National Park (the North and South Units)!
(FYI: The tub was not located in the bathroom)! The tub was right in the corner of our bedroom…by the television!!
SOUTH UNIT
The next day, we drove only 2 miles to the South Unit entrance of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The Visitor's Center is located in Medora at the beginning of the (36-mile) Scenic Loop Drive through the park. Remember to stop by so you can get a Park Map and talk to a Park Ranger so you can find out where some of the Bison herds are currently located in the park. The Rangers may know so you do not have to try to find them all by yourself. (Although, come to think of it, we had no trouble running into Bison everywhere in this park!) Theodore Roosevelt National Park is remote and does not get too many visitors, so you will probably not see too many people while you are visiting the park. We actually saw a lot more Bison than people in this National Park!
PRAIRIE DOGS
BISON
Some of the overlooks we stopped at to take some pictures were: Medora Overlook, Skyline Vista, River Woodland Overlook (where you can see the Little Missouri River), Scoria Point, and North Dakota Badlands Overlook. Also, you will definitely want to stop at one or two of the numerous Prairie Dog Towns located in the park so you can be entertained (once again) by some of those cute little prairie dogs! If you feel like hiking some trails, we hiked Wind Canyon Trail, where you can see some beautiful scenery and the long oxbow curve in the Little Missouri River at the top of the trail. (We also stopped to have some granola bars and water for lunch because this trail had some great scenic views that we wanted to take time to enjoy, and we needed a few minutes to rest and eat!)
We hiked the more strenuous Ridgeline Trail(which is only 0.6 miles) and the Boicourt Overlook Trail. There is also a Painted Canyon area in the park that has some nice scenery, a hiking trail, and another visitor's center. We did see some great Bison and Prairie Dogs while visiting the South Unit. As we left the park, after a busy day, we were looking forward to seeing the most remote section of Theodore Roosevelt National Park the next day: The North Unit!
Another great map!
THE TRAILS
SOUTH UNIT
Skyline Vista - 0.1 mile trail
River Woodland Overlook - sidewalk with view of the Little Missouri River
Prairie Dog Town near the loop road junction - sidewalk and exhibits
Scoria Point Overlook - sidewalk, exhibit, and viewing area
Badlands Overlook - sidewalk, exhibit and viewing area
Buck Hill - sidewalk and exhibit (trail is paved and gravel with stairs)
Beef Corral Prairie Dog Town - sidewalk with prairie dog viewing
Wind Canyon Trail Parking Area - sidewalk only, trail is dirt and gravel surfaced with stairs
Boicourt Overlook - sidewalk and exhibit
Young Bison Calf
Calves are orange in color when they are born. They typically turn brown by their first winter.
Bull Bison
A bull bison walking along the South Unit's Scenic Loop Drive.
Bison Crossing The River
A herd of bison crosses the Little Missouri river.
After driving 70 miles North from Medora on I-94 to US 85 (1 hr. drive on the straightest road we have ever driven on, with the posted Speed Limit at 80 mph!!),(I CAN'T DRIVE 55) we made it to The North Unit! This unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park may be smaller (and in a super remote area); however, it packs a wonderful scenic punch! The wildlife totally abounds (and rules) in this unit. We saw so many Bison everywhere…it was both crazy and marvelous! We would try to hike a trail, and right in the middle of where we wanted to go, Bison were lying all over the hiking trail…Needless to say, we turned around and went back to our car. The Bison won that standoff "hands down" that day…(Let's keep score for fun!!) Bison = 1, Us = 0!!
So, we looked for the next trail on our map to hike! The North Unit only has a 28-mile scenic drive. However, it has so many beautiful and rugged places to stop and see along the way that it is worth the trip and the drive. We stopped at many pullouts, especially the Cannonball Concretions Pullout. We just had to stop when we saw the huge, natural, round rock spheres all over the place at the pullout area! (Very odd, indeed!) It is my understanding that they were all formed by "groundwater minerals cementing"! We also stopped at: Longhorn Pullout (to try to see the park's herd of longhorn steers); Little Mo Nature Trail (a short half-mile loop hike), Caprock Coulee Pullout (where you can see "caprocks" and snakes!!), River Bend Overlook (where you can see a stunning vista of the Little Missouri River Valley); Bentonitic Clay Overlook (where there is a blue-colored bentonite layer in the rock); Man and Grass Pullout (where you can see extensive grasslands); and, then finally, Oxbow Overlook (a spectacular overlook area).
THE TRAILS
NORTH UNIT
Longhorn Steer Pullout - sidewalk and exhibit
Slump Block pullout - sidewalk and exhibit
Cannonball Concretion pullout - sidewalk, exhibit, and cannonball concretion viewing
River Bend Overlook - compacted gravel trail to viewing deck and exhibit
Oxbow Overlook - paved path along the rim of the badlands, exhibits
TRAILS
The short trails at the Skyline Vista Overlook and Boicourt Overlook in the South Unit and the Little Mo Nature Trail in the North Unit are hard-surfaced with minimal slope. All other trails have unmaintained dirt surfaces. More trail information here.
When I heard my husband's voice finally yell "JUMP", I came out of my weird movie daydream and JUMPED forward!
Granola Break
I had my first (hopefully my last) encounter with a rattlesnake on the Caprock Coulee Trail. I was hiking in front of my husband on the trail, just chatting away, when I heard a noise (but, of course, it took my mind a little while longer to comprehend that the noise was a rattling sound!) Not my husband. He was born and raised in Texas…he knew it was a rattlesnake immediately! He yelled for me to stop…so I did! Of course, I stopped in the worst possible place! (Isn't that always the case?) The snake was to my left (all curled up – in the ready-to-strike position) in taller grass about 2-3 feet away! My husband then told me to stand totally still until he told me it was o.k. to jump forward…so, with my heart racing…I waited. It is funny what the mind does when you are experiencing a life-threatening situation. I thought briefly of Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark (I loved that first movie!). Indy said: "Snakes…why does it have to be snakes?" Personally, I really do hate snakes too…like Indy!! When I heard my husband's voice finally yell "JUMP", I came out of my weird movie daydream and JUMPED forward! I felt like I did extremely well at the jump and the landing that day. (It must have been a combination of fear and adrenalin in my system that helped me.) Yes, siree…I probably could have earned a gold medal if I was at the Olympics that day! I landed far enough out of harm's way that the rattlesnake was no longer a threat! Yay! Now, as usual, curiosity then took over…So, just how big is the rattlesnake, and what color is it? I took some pictures of the snake that almost "did me in" that day (from a good distance away, with the zoom lens on my camera). I was not going to get close to that snake (or any other snake) ever again! Then, after a couple of minutes looking at the snake, we continued to hike a little farther down the trail (as my heart tried to resume a more natural beat)! I can tell you, that day, I learned two very important lessons…#1: To be more aware of my surroundings when hiking on very narrow, overgrown wilderness trails! And, #2: To occasionally listen to what my husband has to say…LOL!
After hiking in the North Unit of the park, we were ready to head back to our hotel room in Medora. First, though (and especially after my close rattlesnake encounter), I needed to stop and use the only restroom available in the park (after all, it was at least an hour's drive back to Medora)! So, we drove back toward the front entrance of the park to stop and use the facilities. Lo and behold, there they were!! It had to be ALL of the Bison we had seen throughout the park all day long! Unfortunately, they were ALL now congregating at the restroom we needed to use! Gosh, Darn-it! So, we looked around to see if there was any way we could get through the line of Bison standing at attention (I think they were all looking at us too with smiles on their faces!) and totally in our way…No, not a chance! (FYI: I am not known for my speed and agility!) We then happened to look to the right of the crowded Bison restroom…when we saw it…One more smaller restroom that had not been overrun by the huge Beasts (Yet!!) Yay! However, the question was, could we make it there and back before the restrooms were also invaded by the Big Beastly Bisons? We could make it if we did not hesitate much longer…the herd was moving slowly toward the last restroom in question. So, we drove as close to the other building as we could and then raced inside to use the facilities…we also needed to get back to the car before the Bison surrounded the building! Dang Bison! (That was probably the quickest I had ever used a facility in my entire life!)
We were, however, successful that day! Yay, once again! (Now let's re-total that score.) Bison= 1, Us = 1!! We tied up the score!! After this situation, we also learned something very important: Make sure you visit the only restrooms in a park when you have the chance. You may not know what animal(s) will be lurking by the restrooms when you really have to use them (once again) at the end of the day! (Is that another of Alma's Travel Suggestions? Maybe?) We made it back to Medora and spent one more night before moving on to our final town to visit: Bismarck, North Dakota!
The next day, we traveled 133 miles (1 hr. 50 min.) on I-94 to Bismarck, North Dakota. We stayed at a hotel near the airport so it would make returning our rental car and getting to the airport much easier the next morning when we had to fly back home to Tampa. We did, however, have dinner plans with one of my cousins I had not seen in 46 years! Yes, I did say 46 years! The last time I saw him was in East Texas (at our Grandma's house), and I was only 16 years old at the time. He remembered when we last saw each other because I had just gotten a new car from my parents for my 16th birthday. Thank goodness he remembered when he last saw me, because (honestly), I did not remember the last time I had seen him. My cousin currently lives in Beulah, North Dakota (and yes, I did ask him why he would willingly pick that area of the U. S. to make his domicile; we laughed about that question!). It is way too cold there for me – I would never survive! (Oops, I forgot to mention…I had contacted my cousin before we left on our trip to let him know we were going to be visiting the Dakotas. He was more than delighted to meet my husband and me for dinner in Bismarck, North Dakota, on the date I told him we would be in town!) I have to say that it was a lot of fun meeting him after so many years. FYI: I told him what we would be wearing so he would know which people to pick up for dinner outside our hotel!! LOL! During dinner, we talked about everything (East Texas, our cousins, aunts, uncles, our families, etc.). It was like the old days all over again when we were only 16! And, then, after dinner, we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. It was kind of sad to think that it would probably be our final good-bye to each other. (We are not getting any younger!) Time sure has a way to fly by very quickly! It was a very strange and interesting way to end our great vacation trip to the Dakotas!
To this day, we still talk about the fun times and adventures we had in the Dakotas. Especially the "Tornado Encounter in Wall," the "Bison Encounter at the Restroom," the "Rattlesnake Encounter on the Trail," the "Tub by the TV Encounter in Medora," and meeting a cousin I had not seen or talked to in 46 years! Some of the encounters were not laughing matters at the time they occurred, however, as we look back in time NOW, they are great memories and very funny moments we will always cherish!
So, go visit the Dakotas and create your own wonderful ADVENTURES and memorable "ENCOUNTERS". You can be sure that (to this day) we definitely still TALK and LAUGH about ours!!
ALMA'S SIDE NOTE...
You cannot talk about Theodore Roosevelt National Park and the Dakotas without mentioning President Theodore Roosevelt. In September, 1883, as a young New York politician, he arrived in Medora to hunt buffalo. He immediately fell in love with the area and purchased a ranch seven miles North of Medora, (The Maltese Cross). After losing both his mother to typhoid fever and his wife (Alice) after childbirth, to kidney disease on the same day (Valentine's Day in 1884), he escaped to North Dakota to slowly recover from the terrible tragedies. He bought another ranch (35 miles North of Medora) called Elkhorn. Presently, there is a show on TV about Theodore Roosevelt's early years living and working his cattle ranches in the Dakota Badlands. The show is called "Elkhorn" and I am totally hooked on it, especially since I have visited both the park and Medora.
For your information, Theodore became the youngest President of the United States in 1901. He served two terms and always credited his struggles and experiences in the Dakota Badlands with helping him become President. He called his time in the Badlands as "the romance of my life."
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