We had already driven north to the Theodore Roosevelt National Park north unit entrance in North Dakota, and were only 60 miles away from this national historic site, so we made the trip on up to Williston.
What a neat experience it is to drive through the vast open prairie and see an old fur trading post appear.
According to NPS.gov, Fort Union was one of the most important and profitable fur trading posts on the Upper Missouri River between 1828 and 1867.
Several local Indian tribes exchanged large buffalo hides and smaller furs like beaver and rabbit, for a mixture of goods from all over the world.
Fort Union was not a military fort. It was built by John Jacob Astor, founder of The American Fur Company as a privately owned commercial establishment to engage in business with the Northern Plains Tribes.
As settlers moved west and migrated into the Dakota territory, the United States Army built Fort Buford in 1866, just three miles east of the trading post, to protect the Missouri River transportation route from scavengers. We did not have time to visit Fort Buford.
One year later, in 1867, the Army purchased Fort Union from its last private owner and tore it down.
It wasn’t until 1966 that the National Park Service acquired the property and began reconstruction efforts to restore the fort to its former glory.
Archeologists recovered many artifacts during the restoration process and these items are on display today.
Today’s Fort Union is a reconstruction based in part on the archaeological evidence recovered during those and later excavations completed between 1986 and 1988. Rebuilt to its appearance in 1851, at the height of the buffalo robe trade at Fort Union, the fort offers a place that helps illuminate the post’s role in shaping the land and culture of the Upper Missouri region and the Northern Great Plains. -NPS.gov
Another National Site marked off my bucket list.
Thanks for stopping by and reading my article about another great site in North America.
An unusual fact about “Theodore Roosevelt National Park” is that the South Unit is in Mountain Time Zone, and when we traveled to the North Unit we noticed that we entered Central Time Zone and lost an hour. We visited this part of the park on Thursday, August 10.
It was sprinkling and cloudy as we traveled north from the campgrounds but the countryside is beautiful and breathtaking whether it is cloudy and raining or not.
The North Unit Entrance and Visitor Center is located on Highway 85. The small visitor center doesn’t contain much but you can get your National Park book stamped here and purchase stickers or small souvenirs. They also show the same 17-minute video that we already watched at the south unit.
The rugged solitude of this wilderness is not to be missed or underestimated. This section is much less visited than the south unit, probably because it is more than 50 miles north of the interstate. But don’t let that fool you into thinking it isn’t worth the trip. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.
The scenic drive here is 14 miles long one way to the end at the Oxbow Overlook and then you have to turn around and come back the same way. The first half of the drive stays low in the badlands and the first sight to stop and see is the Cannonball Concretions.
These large round rocks littering the ground and protruding from the side of the cliff are mysterious and bizarre. It seems they simply formed this way from the sediment, and erosion is slowly exposing them within the walls of the mountains. Eventually, they fall out and land on the ground.
The rain and clouds cleared away and a blue sky appeared. I just love the look of the photos when the sky is this blue.
As we continued down the path, we did see one buffalo lying by the side of the road and one deer up on a hill. We were told that the deer in the park were mule deer. I can never tell the difference from a distance.
The middle area of the park is filled with grasslands and prairie. It’s almost like leaving one world behind and entering another totally different landscape. Sometimes the change is as quickly as you can drive around the bend in the road.
Here we saw some more prairie dogs, which some countries, I think, call ground squirrels, and even caught a glimpse of a few wild turkeys in the distance.
We were told to keep our eyes out for bighorn sheep on the steep cliff ledges, but it just wasn’t our day to see any, even though they say driving is the best way to view wildlife.
Most of the road through the park is paved, with a few small exceptions where it must have been washed out and temporarily fixed.
The Little Missouri River winds through the countryside and there is a short 0.7-mile easy nature trail that explores the river valley, or you can hike the longer 1.4-mile moderately difficult long loop trail.
Other trails include the 4.2-mile Caprock Coulee Trail loop which contains some of the most scenic views in the park. The River Bend Overlook has a wheelchair-accessible viewing deck or an overlook shelter down a short trail. And at the Oxbow Overlook, there is a 2-mile round trip trail up to Sperati Point by way of the Achenbach Trail. You can also take a short stroll up a sidewalk to the rim of the badlands.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park North Unit is remote and rugged. The landscape is beautiful and I want to see as much of this country as I can while I can.
Thanks for coming along with us on our travels and journeys. I appreciate the time you spend reading my articles and stories.
On Monday, August 7, we pulled into Oleo Acres RV Park in Belfield, North Dakota. This is a wonderful campground with full hookups, but no other amenities at the moment for a reasonable price. It is located on Highway 85 between the south unit and the north unit of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
The national park is separated into two sections by a national grassland area. Some of the other campers told us they had seen wild turkeys in the campground. We did not for the few days we were there.
On Tuesday, August 8, we drove south to I-94 and stopped first at the Painted Canyon Visitor Center and Rest Area. The canyon is gorgeous from this view.
There is a 0.2-mile loop trail to see the stunning vistas along the rim of the Painted Canyon, and also a 1-mile loop to explore further the interesting geology of the badlands from top to bottom and back up again. With my bum leg at the time, sadly I was not able to walk either one.
A few more miles down I-94 is the south entrance visitor center. This is where I stamped my National Park Book. We watched the 17-minute park film titled “Refuge of the American Spirit,” which introduces visitors to the park and talks about the time Theodore Roosevelt spent here. I always enjoy watching the short videos to learn more about the parks we are visiting.
Just a short distance behind the visitor center is his cabin.
You can walk out to the Maltese Cross Cabin yourself and explore inside or take a 20-minute ranger-led tour for more information. Rich and I like to just explore on our own.
This was a temporary home for the future president when he would split his time between New York and North Dakota. He eventually purchased land and established the Elkhorn Ranch which is located in a third smaller section of the park we did not take time to visit. It is a long hike to the ruins of that ranch.
From here we headed into the park for the scenic drive. Part of the road was closed so the drive was about an hour one way, then we had to turn around and come back the same way. Oh, but what a scenic drive it was. Rich and I both agreed that this was one of the prettiest national parks we have seen to date. But they are all magnificent in their own way.
Rich and I both agreed that this is one of the prettiest National Parks we have seen to date. But they are all magnificent in their own way.
The first stop along the way is the Medora Overlook. The historic town of Medora was founded in 1883 by French Nobleman The Marquis de Mores. The Northern Pacific Railroad had come through the area just a few years prior, and this opened up the region to investors and adventurers from the East. For a few years, the town of Medora grew and thrived, but the harsh winter of 1886–87 killed off thousands of cattle and livestock causing the town and industry to completely collapse.
Medora is now a thriving tourist destination at the south entrance of the park.
The next trail pull-off is the Skyline Vista. This is a short 0.2-mile round trip paved path leading to a viewing area overlooking the Little Missouri River. We didn’t walk it, but Rich walked out to the edge of the pull-off and looked down.
One of the first things we noticed was the hundreds and hundreds of prairie dogs in the area. These prairie dog towns are everywhere throughout the park. They are so fun to stop and watch.
There are several wonderful side roads and pull-off views to stop and see along the scenic drive. Make sure you do them all. And be sure to keep your eyes out for wildlife. There are horses, buffalo, deer, and elk in the park besides the prairie dogs.
We drove down the Cottonwood turnoff and the views were absolutely gorgeous. After this turnoff is the Peaceful Valley Ranch.
This is the only original ranch house remaining in the park. It served as a popular place for guided horseback rides from 1918 to 2014. The property changed hands many times over the years. At this time, the property and buildings are not being used. Three of the buildings, including the house, are included on the National Register of Historic Places.
Some of the trails along the way are the Halliday Well Paddock Creek Trail, the Wind Canyon Trail 0.4 mile loop, the Boicourt Trail 0.3 mile paved path, and the Coal Vein Nature Trail 0.8 mile loop. I wasn’t able to walk any of these trails so we just kind of drove on by.
Once we reached the end of the road we had to turn around and come back the same way. This allowed me to take pictures of the other side of the road all the way back.
We saw some wild horses and I snapped a photo as we passed by.
We were fortunate enough to be there on a day when the entire herd of buffalo in the south unit decided to bless us with their presence as they journeyed across the road from one side of the park to the other. What a sight it was to see all the babies tagging along behind their mothers.
A park ranger finally had to come help get the herd off the road. The cars in front were inching slowly but only accomplished moving the herd an inch or two as they stayed in the road and crossed back and forth.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park South Unit is beautiful and I see what the man loved about the park. Stay tuned for our visit to the North Unit.
If you ever have the chance to explore Theodore Roosevelt National Park make sure you take the time to do the South Unit.
Sunday, August 6, we left the Pipestone Family Campground and drove Hwy 29 from South Dakota up to Fargo, North Dakota where we got on I-94. Heading west on I-94 we stopped at Jamestown, ND to see the World’s Largest Buffalo and the Frontier Village and Buffalo Museum.
The parking lot at the museum was large enough to get the motorhome in and turn around. If the parking lot had been completely full of other vehicles though, there might not have been room.
The sculptor’s name is Elmer Paul Petersen. The bull was erected in 1959. His name is Dakota Thunder. He weighs 60 tons, is 46 feet long, 14 feet wide, and 26 feet high. That is a lot bigger than our motorhome.
There is a gift shop inside the National Buffalo Museum. We walked around a little bit, but I have hurt my right knee and just can’t walk much right now. It was too far of a walk for me from the parking lot to the Frontier Town and to the large buffalo, so I settled for pictures from afar.
After a short visit here, we drove over to the Walmart parking lot in the Buffalo Mall and spent the night. We always call ahead and ask the Walmart’s if they allow overnight parking. This one does. See you tomorrow.
