Day 7: Hot as Hell in Theodore Roosevelt National Park

 July 2, 2021

Vanlog, boondocking site in Little Missouri National Grasslands

I left my boondocking site around 7 AM and arrived shortly at the south unit of Theodore Roosevelt NP near Medora, ND. The park was named after Theodore Roosevelt who came here to hunt bison in 1883. He returned a year later after his young wife Anna died in childbirth and his mother died of typhoid on the same day (Valentine's Day) in 1884. He came to grieve and to connect with nature. He built a ranch, the Maltese Cross Ranch and later a second ranch known as the Elkhorn Ranch along the sides of the Little Missouri River. The original Maltese Cross Cabin has been relocated to the visitor center site. Roosevelt's writing desk and other belongings are included inside. 

In the morning, I drove past several prairie dog colonies and listened to their shrieks and watched them stand on their hind legs and scurry around. I also saw two bison, a jack rabbit, and a mule deer. 

Along the south unit scenic drive, I made stops at Boicourt overlook, Buck Hill (which I hiked up), and Badlands overlook. Along the drive, I saw a herd of wild horses and on my one walk I saw a western bluebird. 

Along the return drive, I stopped at the bautiful Wind Canyon Trail overlooking the Little Missouri River far below the cliff's edge. Then at the visitor's center and the Maltese Cross Cabin. 

After that, it was a long 1 hr 30 min drive up Rt 85 to the north unit in sweltering hot temperatures that reached 99 degrees. The north unit has a 14-mile scenic drive. I stopped for the cannonball concretions, a herd of bison, teh River Bend overlook, and the Oxbow overlook.

Finally, I returned to the south unit, stopping at the Painted Canyon Visitor's Center just before they closed at 5, the town of Medora, and finally back to my boondocking site in the Little Missouri National Grasslands, where I made friends with my fellow vanlifers and watched another amazing sunset.