August 27-28, 2023 – Theodore Roosevelt National Park – Painted Canyon and North Unit and Medora, ND



Sunday, we drove 68 miles to the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  A few miles outside of Medora on I94 we stopped at the Painted Canyon Visitor Center.








We took a short trail that ran along the rim of Painted Canyon.  The views were beautiful, but the picture does not show all the color.






We continued to the North Unit and took the scenic drive – 28 miles roundtrip in and back.  A short way into the drive we had to stop for bison on the road.  This was one of the many times we would have to stop for bison – we are so happy.





These large round rocks on the floor and protruding from the butte are called cannonball concretions.  They were formed when sand grains from an ancient river deposit were cemented together by minerals dissolved in groundwater.  Erosion is slowly exposing them.






On the other side of the butte there was a whole pile of these “cannonballs”.







Like the South Unit the North Unit has a variety of landscapes – we like the contrast between the badlands and the cottonwood groves.






More bison – we liked this large bull standing in the shade.






We took a short hike to the Riverbend Overlook giving us a nice view of the Little Missouri River.  We were standing in a stone shelter built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps.







Another short hike to this beautiful overlook.  The bluish colored layer is Bentonitic Clay.

Again, the color does not show up well in the picture.





Our final stop and short hike were at Oxbow Overlook.  The wind was blowing really hard up here so we did not stay long.  We ate lunch in the car in the parking lot and then headed back down the scenic drive.






A few minutes out of the parking lot, we saw this Bighorn ewe making her way across the prairie.  Our first Bighorn in the park!






And more bison – again we had to wait for bison on the road.  We are so happy that we were able to see bison and a Bighorn today.

We enjoyed our two days at Theodore Roosevelt National Park and are happy we can check another national park off our list.


Monday, we spent doing laundry and getting the motorhome ready to move.  We are heading to South Dakota tomorrow.  We enjoyed our stay in Medora and seeing all the sights – and eating ice cream.  We are glad to finally be able to check ND off the shrinking list of states we have not visited.  We are only left with the New England states and Hawaii.


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