Day 45 North Dakota

I left Cook Lake, again along bumpy dirt roads, and crossed over the boundary into South Dakota on my way up to North Dakota along the Theodore Roosevelt Expressway. I drove to the Painted Canyon Visitor Center just outside the Theodore Roosevelt National Park and took the first photo posted.

This park pays homage to the time that Theodore Roosevelt spent in his youth in the surrounding area and in the Dakota Territories before they were states. Roosevelt lived in the area after his mother and wife died hours apart on February 14, 1884. Theodore Roosevelt National Park is the only American national park named after a single person.

I entered the park at the southern entrance and drove the loop on the South Unit for an hour. The remaining pictures are from the loop, including from the Boicourt Overlook, from where you could see the tops of several buttes up to 20 miles beyond the park. The wildlife I saw included a few bison, some deer, and many prairie dogs. There was a half dozen areas along the loop identified as “prairie towns” with many holes for the active animals. I tried to get close for a clear picture, but they would scamper or return to their hole if I got too close, so my picture is a bit fuzzy. (I need to get a zoom lens.) I couldn’t pull off to take a decent picture of the bison, so I downloaded one. (Yes, I know that’s cheating,)

I then drove to the Cottonwood Campground within the park. Thanks to the Senior American the Beautiful National Park Pass, this was the cheapest campground yet and, other than no electricity, also one of the best.

The other interesting issue on the trip was the 35 MPH winds the entire day, which impacted standing on cliffs for pictures and seriously lowered my gas mileage on the drive.