August 22, 2020

Elkhorn Ranch

Red Trail Campground Medora, North Dakota Day 3

I took my morning walk across the railroad tracks and into town.  I dropped some postcards at the post office and then walked along the river on a paved path.  No pictures today because I was able to talk with Kyle while I was walking. 

We drove through Golden Valley County.

Our destination today was Elkhorn Ranch.  Theodore Roosevelt spent time here in North Dakota long before he was president.  He had been on a bison hunting expedition in 1883.  When his wife and mother both tragically died on the same day, February 14, 1884, Roosevelt made plans to return to North Dakota to grieve.  Roosevelt called the Badlands a “land of vast, silent spaces.”  He fell in love with the cowboy persona and invested in Elkhorn Ranch.  “It was here that the romance of my life began.”  Roosevelt also said that “I would not have been president had it not been for my experience in North Dakota.”  Roosevelt was president from 1901-1909.  He became a champion of the preservation of public lands.  He is known as one of the founding fathers of conservation in the United States and during his presidency he was responsible for the protection of more than 230 million acres.  This National Park was dedicated in his memory in 1947. 

We had to hike ¾ mile to the ranch.  At the site, there are stones to mark the corners of the ranch house.  But is isn’t the house that we were there to see.  It was the place where a great man lived and walked and wrote and healed.  I know that it is sentimental and probably a little bit nerdy but, I think that there is great reverence and power in walking in the footsteps of those who have come before us. 

A 4-foot Western Hog-nosed snake crossed our path.  It was too quick for a picture but I found a likeness on the internet. 

We took the Jeep on a dirt road as far as we could.

We went to Elkhorn Camp and found a shady spot for lunch.  This butterfly was really enjoying the thistledown. 

We stopped to take pictures of these petrified logs laying by the roadside. 

This ranch…Western Skies Ranch…just one of many.                         

We have spent more than a week now exploring this park.  The landscape is so varied and the wildlife so diverse that we have absolutely enjoyed being here.

Tomorrow we were going to move on. We really are not sure where we are going next. We thought about going to Montana to see Glacier National Park. All of the National Parks are only partially open with very limited visitor services and almost no camping. The parts that are open are said to be extremely crowded now until Labor Day. We don’t want to drive across Montana and then only get to see a small portion of the park. We were going to drop down into South Dakota, there are places we would like to see there. The weather forecast shows smoke in Rapids City secondary to wildfires and the temperatures are in the upper 90’s and are set to reach 100 degrees 2 out of the next four days. Tim was threatening to throw a dart at the map! By the end of the day, we had decided to stay here one more night. No decision has to be made tonight!

We have used Roosevelt’s quotes everyday this week.  Today we close with a quote we have posted before, but it is one of Tim’s favorites!