Theodore Roosevelt Park, Medora, ND

“There can be no greater issue than that of conservation in this country.”

Theodore Roosevelt 

Perhaps you've already guessed our next destination.

Though I must say to reach this park was another 6-1/2 hour driving day.  Since leaving Green Valley, AZ we have put on some 1,600 miles and we're still not at our final destination. 

I was not prepared for how scenic the Badlands were even though a feeling of desolation prevailed with absolutely nothing else around.  

 

The Badlands are a mammoth area and difficult to capture its immensity with one camera lens.

It's a Butte.
Look carefully at the photos posted. They may look mountainous, but landforms in the badlands are called buttes. Mountains form when land is thurst upwards. But this process has not taken place in the badlands. Buttes form as erosion removes surrounding material. Rainwater, creeks, and the river are constantly eroding the badlands, leaving behind these fantastically shaped buttes.

Hunting and ranching in the Little Missouri Badlands greatly influenced Theodore Roosevelt's desire to protect natural resources. Later on, as president, he designated more than 230 million acres of national parks, forests, monuments, and wildlife reserves. His legacy of conservation is memorialized here at this national park.

This will be our next destination-thanks for joining us on our epic road trip.