Thelma and Louise: The South Unit

Many of you have asked why North Dakota? Why this park? My answer, partly true, has been that it’s less crowded than other “summer parks”. Totally true. We also started planning late, so we were too late to have the experience we wanted in Yellowstone or Grand Tetons. But…there’s another reason. This place has always been on my list. The reason? Teddy Roosevelt. I ❤️ him. I learned history in a big picture way, less about dates and timelines, and more about an overall understanding. So I don’t know everything about Teddy Roosevelt. I’m always learning new facts and stories. But my big picture understanding has my heart wrapped around his conservation legacy. If you’ve traveled the park system at all, you’re hard pressed to visit an interpretive center that doesn’t have his fingerprints on it in some manner. So I know a bit about his love of wild places, but I didn’t know exactly how it started. Turns out, it started here.

Roosevelt first came to the Dakota Territory in 1883 to hunt bison. After falling in love with the land, he invested in a ranch, the Maltese Ranch. After the death of his mother and wife in 1884, he returned to the Badlands, invested in a new ranch, Elkhorn, and built himself a cabin on the bank of the Little Missouri River. While he worked on his ranch alongside his ranch hands, he also spent a significant amount of time reading and writing in his cabin. It's speculated that it was this time that renewed him, healed his heart, and readied him for the career we know was ahead of him.

"I never would have been President if it had not been for my experiences in North Dakota."
-Theodore Roosevelt

You know the end of this story. Roosevelt went on to enact great conservation policies in our country. He was responsible for protecting 150 national forests, 51 federal bird preserves, 4 federal wildlife preserves, 18 national monuments, and 5 national parks with a grand total of 230 million acres in all. He also became President.

"There can be no greater issue than that of conservation. Just as we conserve our men, women, and children, so we must conserve the resources of the land on which they live."
-Theodore Roosevelt

So how do you get inspired in a place like the Badlands? This is where our story starts!

Badlands literally, in several languages, means "bad land". It's dry. It's hot. It's a lot of brown. But there is terrific geology here! I jokingly made a hash mark on the car door to note how often the words "geology" or "topography" were uttered. ;) It's canyons and glens, a winding river and smaller creeks, elevation changes, and wildlife.

Our first wildlife encounter was at one of several prairie dog towns. In addition to being both adorable and hysterical, did you know they have their own language? I mean, their chirps and whistles aren't just simple communication. Scientists have learned that they have complex vocabulary and grammar. Grammar. They are basically rodents. With grammar. Let that sink in. ;)

And then we went on the hunt for bison. Figuratively speaking. 😉

You can't find a bison in the heat of the day without a certain amount of swerving around on the road. We were happy to find a few cooling off within view, and even two moms with babies. We felt content with these finds!

And then we headed "home". We had a car picnic, changed our shoes, and turned right around to be at the park around sunset. We were so rewarded with this idea! We saw lots of animals, but also stumbled back across the moms with their calves. It felt so special to be able to be so close to these giant beasts. And yes, we were safely in the car. ;)