G.A.S.P.

(Great Adventures to Scenic Places)

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June 18, 1999

On June 18, I rode through the Park. This has to be one of the better set-ups for bicyclists in the National Park System. The main road through the Park is a 36 mile loop, with a couple of steep hills, but overall not too difficult for riding. There are lots of things to see, starting with the scenery, but also including a Buffalo herd, several bands of wild horses and three big prairie dog towns.

Click on thumbnail to see full photograph	The Prairie Dog towns are huge. I was expecting something that covered a couple of acres, but these spread out over dozens of acres. I was especially thrilled to see the wild horses – and at fairly close range. I watched and listened for 15 minutes or so as they whinnied and danced atop a butte, then ran down the side of the butte to the grassland and creek below.	Click on thumbnail to see full photograph
Behind the Visitor Center (relocated from 6 miles south of the Park) is Theodore Roosevelt’s Maltese Cross Cabin where he spend much of his time in the North Dakota Badlands. There is also a great deal of information about him, and especially about these "formative years" in North Dakota, at the Visitor Center.		Click on thumbnail to see full photograph
Some of my other favorite photos of the South Unit can be seen by clicking on this button:

I really enjoyed my visit to both the North and South Units of this splendid National Park. The Park is not well known, and attracts just 400,000 visitors annually. Of those, probably 80% are at the South Unit because it straddles Interstate 94, and even gives travelers a peek by having a rest stop along the highway (Painted Canyon Visitor Center). More people should come here. On the other hand, a large portion of its attractiveness is that there just aren’t many people here (unlike wall-to-wall-with-people Yellowstone). So just those who read this come to Theodore Roosevelt National Park, and don’t tell your friends.