Expedition Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller
Date: June 18 & 19, 2022
Teddy Roosevelt was President from 1901 to 19909 and proclaimed 18 national monuments, created five national parks, 150 national forests and established the US Forest Service. This national park, established in 1947, is a memorial to honor him. Roosevelt came to Medora in 1883 to buffalo hunt and didn’t want to leave, Painted Canyon in the eastern part, gave us a panoramic view of the canyon and broken topography below in a variety of colors. The 30-mile south unit scenic loop road has beautiful overlooks of the Badlands, Little Missouri River, prairie, creeks, hills, wildflowers, cactus, and access to many trails. We saw prairie dog towns, bison, feral horses, elk, and several snakes. At the small town of Medora, population 200 (but triples in size in the summer months due to seasonal employees), I had a bison burger and Rosie had pizza at the Little Missouri Saloon. We camped about two miles out of town and kept our eyes open for white tailed deer crossing the road. Deer was everywhere, in the city school playground, in front of buildings and in parking lots. Behind the visitor center was the 1884 Roosevelt “Maltese” Log Cabin. Due to the lack of trees in the area, the top half of the cabin was built from ponderosa pine (former railroad ties) and the bottom half from cottonwood trees.
