Today we are visiting the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The Park actually has two portions, a North and South Unit. We will be driving the 36 mile Scenic Loop. There is also a visitor's center that has a small Teddy Roosevelt museum that holds personal items, ranching artifacts and natural history displays. This interesting statue is included. The items that "Teddy " is wearing are actually his and were worn by him.
There are many animals in the park and we enjoyed scouting for them while driving the loop. One of the larges herds of bison roam this park as well as wild horses, deer, prairie dogs, and over 200 species of birds.
As we started the drive the first animal we came across was a prairie dog, actually a whole town of them.
Also roaming the ranges and hills of the park are many wild horses. Many of them left from the heydays of cattle ranching.
Of course the big prize of the tour is the sighting of the herds of bison. The lost of the great herds of the past were one of the many things that caused Teddy Roosevelt to establish the US Forest Service, signing the 1906 Antiquities Act under which he created 18 national monuments. He also got Congressional approval for the establishment of 5 national parks and 51 wildlife refuges and set aside land as national forests. We would not have these beautiful places if not for him.
This area of North Dakota is known as the Badlands by White men and Indians alike. There are buttes, tablelands and valleys that make up the area. It is beautiful in its own way. Many plants and animals live in this area.
The last animal we saw was a little family of deer. The mama and her two fawns were munching on the plants growing alongside the road.
After we completed the drive in the park we went back to town to have some ice cream in a local place. They were very generous and the single scoop bowl we had was huge! We walked around town a bit and checked out some of the stores. We didn't buy anything but enjoyed window shopping. We went back to the rig for dinner later.
Here are all the pictures.
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