![]() He witnessed the environmental damage done by overgrazing. His experiences there were formative: He lost more than $24,000 when blizzards decimated the cattle he’d invested in. Roosevelt lived the cowboy life, spending days riding and herding in what was considered America’s last frontier. It’s furnished with period pieces and some of his belongings, including his traveling trunk, a replica of his writing desk and a rocking chair. ![]() ![]() He lived in a small ponderosa pine cabin now located just steps from the visitor center. 14, 1884, he left politics and returned to the badlands to mourn his losses. He’d been a state assemblyman in his native New York, but after his mother and wife both died on Feb. On his first visit in 1883, he hunted bison and invested in a ranch near Medora. At every stop, we were awed by the scenery, from the astonishing palette of earthy hues to the stone shapes etching land and sky.Īn exhibit at the visitor center tells Roosevelt’s story. We did most of the hikes along the loop drive, some just a few minutes’ walk to an overlook, others 20 to 40 minutes along hilly trails covering a mile or more. They looked like the crusty paws of some massive alien creature on the verge of rising up. Stripes of peach, cream and mud-brown earth and stone lined the curving banks of the Little Missouri River.įraming it all were the famous badlands stretching to the horizon: flat-topped stone formations with striated slopes in tawny yellows and russet reds, dotted with bright green trees and patches of grass. The scent of sage perfumed the air, and bursts of red foliage punctuated the gray-green grasslands. The wildlife encounters were thrilling and unexpected surprises. We’d see three more prairie dog towns before we completed the loop, along with wild horses grazing on a hill by the roadside and in another spot, a herd of bison. Dozens of the tiny creatures scampered back and forth, popping in and out of little holes amid scrubby grasses. Within minutes, we came upon a prairie dog town. What was it about this place that allowed this future president to grieve and recover - while at the same time inspiring him to become one of America’s most influential conservationists? I needed to see it for myself. Photos of its badlands and prairies enchanted me, and the story of Teddy Roosevelt’s sojourn there following the deaths of his wife and mother on the same day intrigued me. It’s 330 miles (530 kilometers) between them, and I didn’t have time for both on a week-long road trip that also included Montana’s Glacier National Park and Idaho’s Craters of the Moon. I had to choose between visiting Fargo in eastern North Dakota (and the name of one of my favorite movies) or Theodore Roosevelt National Park in the west. Part of the challenge was deciding what to do there and how to get there. It ended up being 49th on my 50-state quest (sorry, Idaho!). It’s not exactly on the way to anywhere else, and flying there is expensive. (AP) - For travelers looking to visit all 50 states, North Dakota is often one of the last to be checked off.
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