Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota

Shortly after crossing the state line into North Dakota, we approached the town of Williston, not knowing this is the area where the oil boom is happening.  We were totally amazed at the number of trucks - for every car/pickup there were at least ten semis!  Road construction, housing developments and oil wells are being developed everywhere.  We were told that some fast food restaurants only had their drive-thru windows open because they didn't have enough employees.  Walmart is said to be paying $18 per hour with signing bonuses.  Truck drivers are in high demand.  Actually, workers of all kinds are in high demand.  The town of Watford City had a population of 1,500 prior to the oil boom, now it has a population of 7,500!

Hwy. 2

First crossing of the Missouri River, Williston, N. Dakota

"I have always said I would not have been president if it had not been for my experience in North Dakota" - Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt came to North Dakota in 1883 to hunt bison after reading about the threatened extinction of them.  He was afraid they would all be gone before he got there.  It took ten days before he spotted one and killed it.  He loved the ruggedness of the country and before he returned to New York, he and two partners bought the Maltese Cross Ranch in the Badlands.  After his wife died from complications of childbirth and his mother died from typhoid, both on February 14, 1884, he returned to North Dakota and immersed himself in ranching, buying a second ranch called the Elkhorn.

Before becoming president, Roosevelt changed from being a hunter to a conservationist.  After being elected president, he established the U.S. Forest Service and got Congressional approval to establish five national parks, in addition to 51 wildlife refuges.

What most people call buffalo are actually bison.  Bison are found in North and South America while buffalo are found in Africa and south Asia.  Bison have humps, buffalo don't.  Bison have thick fur, buffalo have light fur.  Bison have small sharp horns, buffalo (water) have long horns but they are not sharp while cape buffalo have medium length sharp horns.  There are also several other differences.

We were surprised by how green everything was.  We were told this has been a much wetter year than usual, that  usually by this time of the year the grasses have turned brown and it's a monochrome landscape.  It also meant that mosquitos and gnats were out in force.  I hate bugs and creepy crawly things!  Lee says "get used to it"!

The following pictures were taken in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Unit.  

The Little Missouri

This guy didn't create a traffic jam like in Yellowstone!

Cactus in North Dakota???  It's a native plant!

Spider webs in the bushes

The following pictures were taken at the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Finally, we are seeing blue skies!

Theodore Roosevelt's Maltese Cross cabin, now located in the park

Cabin's main room

Bison roam freely through Cottonwood Campground, this is our site and I had just gone into the motorhome minutes before they came.  They're very quiet!!!

There are numerous prairie dog towns in the park

Wild horse

Wild horses, they always look so tame

The Enchanted Highway is a 32-miles stretch of road from I-94, exit 72, south to the town of Regent, North Dakota.  It has seven of the largest scrap metal sculptures in the world.  The idea behind them was to bring life back to the city of Regent, which was slowly dying.  

Geese in Flight is located adjacent to I-94 at Exit 72 and is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest scrap metal sculpture.  Made from oil well pipe and oil tanks, it weighs over 75 tons.  The sun ray is 110' tall and 156' long.  The largest goose has a 30' wing span and is 19' long.

Our first stop, however, was at "The Deer Family" which is where we saw our friends, Jim and Ann with their dog, Molly.  We met Jim and Ann at Playa Los Cocos, Baja, Mexico, in 2009, and had not seen them since then until last week in Creston, British Columbia at our Baja reunion.  Life is funny - we had no idea they were in the area, we had not intended to do this drive until the following day but decided on the spur of the moment to go and we decided we would stop at the Geese in Flight sculpture on the way back because it was on the other side of the freeway.  So, imagine our surprise, and theirs, when we pulled into view the Deer Family, and there they were!!  At each stop along the way, we enjoyed their company and said good-bye in Regent.  Who knows, our paths may cross again as we both continue to the East Coast.

The Deer Family - Buck is 75' tall and 60' long; Doe is 50' tall and 50' long

Grasshoppers in the Field - the large one is 40' tall and 50' long

 Fisherman's Dream - the rainbow trout is 70' long

Pheasants on the Prairie - Rooster is 40' tall and 70' long

Hen is 35' tall and 60' long, Chicks are 15' tall and 20' long

Sunflower field across from the Pheasants on the Prairie

The Tin Family - Pa is 45' tall, Ma is 44' tall, Son is 23' tall

Teddy Rides Again - a tribute to Theodore Roosevelt's

part in North Dakota history - Mulley, T.R.'s favorite horse,

 is 51' tall and weighs over 9,000 lbs.

The final sculpture - right next to the gift shop!

Since it was getting late, we didn't visit the museum or any of the other sites in town, but from reading local guides, it sounds like it could be fun.  Hold on Regent!  Hopefully, tourists will come!!!