Grim beauty indeed in these lesser known badlands which proved to be an inspiration for a future President to want to preserve areas of the country in their natural state.
Days at Park: Wed-Thu, 17-18 Jul 2019
Base Camp: AmericInn - Dickinson, North Dakota
Expedition Parks: Badlands, Wind Cave, Theodore Roosevelt
Point of Embarkation: Rapid City, South Dakota
It is a long drive from the Black Hills north to the valley of the Little Missouri River and even further to the north unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Along the Canadian American or CanAm Highway, which North Dakota dedicated to the first president Roosevelt, towns are widely separated by miles of plains punctuated by occasional outcroppings of rock. The drive proved to be a monotonous slog, the kind that wears on the nerves and leaves the body searching for relief from the endless sitting and steering position.
North Unit & Sperati Point
Arriving at the gorge where the highway crosses the Little Missouri River by the Long X Bridge early in the afternoon, left me only half a day to explore the north unit of the park. This left me enough time to follow the Scenic Drive, stopping at various noteworthy pullouts along the way, including an up close examination of a collection of round rock formations appropriately called cannonball concretions. The drive ends at the Oxbow Overlook where the river doubles back on itself, ending its westward course and turning southwards towards Roosevelt's ranch and the south unit of the park. Here a leisurely hike through the grassland which cover the cliffs above the river to Sperati Point, a rocky overlook of the river valley and the striped cliffsides. Arriving just as an iconic plains thunderstorm started to darken the sky in the near distance only added to the powerful beauty of this land and I understood the words of the young man who would eventually become our 26th President when he wrote, “I grow very fond of this place, and it certainly has a desolate, grim beauty of its own, that has a curious fascination for me."
South Unit & Tatanka
After an eventful dinner at the El Sombrero Mexican restaurant, during which everyone's phone sounded an alert indicating a tornado warning, and a restful though stormy night spent in Dickinson, North Dakota, it was time to spend the day exploring the south unit of the park. The sky had cleared and the land was greener as a result of the overnight storms as I drove the Scenic Loop Drive which at first follows the course of the Little Missouri and then loops around the smaller feeder creeks. Several pullouts afforded scenic views of the wide brown river and surrounding river valley and I was lucky enough to see a lone bison grazing near a road sign just after the road crossed the Jules Creek and turned away from the river.
At Buck Hill I parked and climbed up the steep path to get a view of the sweeping landscape from this high vantage point, but upon attempting to continue the loop drive discovered that the road was closed. I was unhappy to have to go back the long way around until I was greeted by the same bison walking beside the road. I slowed and he walked along beside my car watching me as I admired his powerful stride and majestic bearing. It was a spiritual moment surprisingly experienced from behind the steering wheel.
Across the road from the Peaceful Valley Ranch is a turnoff leading to the trailhead for the Lower Paddock Creek Trail. This trail follows, and occasionally crosses, the Paddock Creek and cuts through three separate prairie dog towns to the apparent consternation of the residents thereof. The warning barks or yips begin as you approach each town and continue until you have safely passed all of the burrows. The trail was also being used this day by an industrious insect which I delighted in finding and following for some way, reminding me to always keep an eye out for small wonders amid large landscapes.
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