TR National Park

Theodore Roosevelt also known by the locals as ‘TR’, lived hunted and raised cattle in this area.  In honor and memory of this great president the park was named for him.

We have a reserved site inside the park in the Cottonwood Campground and as we were driving the 6 miles to the campground from the town of Medora we encountered our first sighting of buffalo.  I should have said the first of many sightings, including one within spitting distance behind our RV.

Our first full day in the National Park we drove the loop road taking in all the beautiful sites of the Bad Lands of North Dakota along the Little Missouri River.  Rain kept us in the campground that afternoon. We drove into the town of Medora on the edge of the park that evening for dinner and a show.  Medora is like a mini Branson with lots of shops, bars, restaurants and musical shows.  For dinner that night we enjoyed dining on prime rib before learning all about TR through a lecture presented by a character actor of President Roosevelt himself.

As a young man TR enjoyed hunting and was intent on bagging a trophy bison.  During that expedition he fell in love with the North Dakota Territory and returned there often.  But when he lost his wife in childbirth and his mother on the same day, he found solace in the wilderness.  Eventually he bought cattle, started a ranch and then was called back to Boston where he cared for his daughter and got involved in politics.  He would return many times to North Dakota and eventually declared it a National Park along with many other parks in the United States. Of course he covered the war in Cuba and how a stuffed bear became known and Teddy’s Bear then a TeddyBear.

The next night I was so excited to go to the Musical Show of Medora held on an open air stage and amphitheater under clear skies and an almost full moon. The back drop of an old west Medora moved often to reveal the beautiful hills behind the stage and to allow horsed and a truck to go past.  It was a moving show with some familiar tunes, patriotic productions and songs relating to only Medora.