On the road again! That Willie Nelson song title keeps popping up in my mind when I sit down to write. One part of the song talks about going places and seeing things that I haven’t seen before, and that really fits my National Park hunt.

Yes, I am out and about again, and my first stop was Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The park isn’t totally new to me. I had previously visited the Painted Canyon Visitor Center and driven the 36-mile scenic loop in the South Unit, stopping at the prairie dog villages to watch the comical little creatures. They sure are fun to watch, popping up from holes in the ground like an arcade game, or standing erect as if on guard. The chattering or clicking of their communication makes one wonder what they are conveying to each other.

This visit was different. For one, I saw more bison than the last time, and two, I did much more hiking. I spent one day in the South Unit and then ventured up to the North Unit for a day, where I had never been before.

The Theodore Roosevelt National Park is the only national park named for a person. The more than 70,000 acres of an incredible variety of canyons, bluffs, striped buttes, meadows, valleys and rounded mounds was established as a national park in 1947. Streams and rivers, including today’s Little Missouri River, cut into the rock strata formed over millions of years, creating the varied landscape that is there today, with the sediment stripes ranging in color from a yellowish-tan to blue-gray to pinkish-tan to dark brown and black. The stripes are what intrigued me, adding an incredible beauty to the badlands in the park.

The erosion along the sides of the buttes also intrigued me. The erosion of holes and caves made me wonder how far they extend under the layers. Some of them had this stripe of hard stone that created a ceiling-like structure, which was fascinating to me.

While I did see more bison, I didn’t see any elk, pronghorns, or bighorn sheep. Talking with other hikers, some told me they had driven to the end of the 14-mile scenic drive around dusk and did see all of those. The other wildlife I was able to witness included a small coyote, a turkey that was by itself – which seemed strange to me – and deer. There also were a variety of birds. One fun incident with the birds: I was hiking a razor-back trail and a bird called from somewhere to my right, and was answered from somewhere on my left. I couldn’t see the birds, but I stopped and listened, and then it was like I could be the conductor of their calls. It was magical.

With the bison, I was able to photograph several who were alone, but a closed road brought me to a herd near Peaceful Valley Ranch. I had intended head east on the loop instead of north, choosing to take the loop backwards. The road was closed a short distance in, so I had to turn around. That was where I saw the coyote and some of the deer. Anyway, I turned around and headed north past the Peaceful Valley Ranch, not intending to stop, but there was a herd of bison, including new babies, in the meadow between the road and the corals. With no pull out, I drove the gravel driveway into the ranch, parked on the gravel in the farm yard and watched the bison. Grazing, they gravitated toward the corals and the buildings, even grazing next to the sidewalk and porch of the house. It was so fun to watch those big animals scratch their head and necks on fence posts! One was rubbing under his chin and neck on a picnic table, and I could hear little grunts, almost like a purr. Some of them crossed right in front of the car. Such a privilege!

Taking off down several hiking trails in both the North and South units took me into such a variety of terrains and vegetation it was incredible! My favorite was the Riverbend Overlook in the North Unit, though I only hiked a short distance around the overlook. I felt like I was on top of the world! The view of the Little Missouri River valley, and the surrounding hills and mountains made me feel like I was in the Temple of God! It nearly brought me to tears!

Another thing that really struck me was the resilience of the plants in the rocks and harsher areas.

There is so much more that is lovely about this park! The wind got tiring, but I’m so glad I stopped. I’m going to leave you with a few more photos of some of my trails.