Roosevelt’s home on the range

The Sioux call this bleak terrain mako shika, “land of no good.” When Gen. Alfred Sully led an expedition through North Dakota’s badlands in the 1860s, he dubbed the place “hell with the fires out.”

But in 1883, when a 24-year-old New Yorker named Teddy Roosevelt arrived on this frontier for the first time, he called the experience “the romance of my life.” On a family vacation two years ago, I began to understand why.

Here in the southwest part of the state, on land that celebrates its 25th anniversary as Theodore Roosevelt National Park this year, we found plains infused with history and full of natural wonders. Elk, prairie dogs and wild horses. Geological marvels. A walk in the footsteps of Bat Masterson, Gen. George Armstrong Custer and other legends of the West. These things -- as well as the lure of open space and my family’s affinity for national parks -- drew us to what had seemed at first glance like a blank spot on the map.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park, designated a memorial park in 1947 and upgraded to national park status in 1978, remains in the figurative shadow of South Dakota’s Mt. Rushmore, 200 miles away. But we set out to see the creations of nature, not man, and envisioned camping under starry skies to the howls of coyotes.

We arrived at the park’s Cottonwood Campground and slept not far from where the Little Missouri River lapped its banks. Soon enough the first rays of sunlight crept across the landscape, filling our tent with a soft glow. The sweet scent of juniper perfumed the air. The song of a meadowlark drifted across the prairie, accompanied by the gentle hum of RV generators.

“Get up! Get up!” commanded Steve, my teenage son, as he unzipped the tent doors.

My wife, Anne Marie, and my 12-year-old daughter, Rebecca, bolted from their sleeping bags, blinked and rubbed their eyes.

“Look,” Steve said.

He lifted the tent flap to reveal a herd of bison trudging through the grove of cottonwood trees surrounding our campsite. The sound that I had assumed to be RV generators was buffalo jaws grinding wild grass. We watched as mothers nursed their calves. One bison tore the bark from a tree as it scratched its back against the trunk.

At a break in the herd, we tried to distance ourselves, scooting down a dirt path to a cinder-block bathroom. From the doorway we counted 105 bison before losing track.

Anne Marie grabbed my arm when a horned bull flopped to the ground with a bone-jarring thud. It heaved onto its back, raising a plume of dirt. Writhing and groaning, the bull flailed its hoofs in the air. This behavior, known as wallowing, kills annoying insects. It also can leave craters a foot deep and 10 feet in diameter. Thousands of wallowing holes scar the North Dakota plains.

“Oh, yuck,” Rebecca said, pointing. A shaggy bison sniffed our tent, stuck out 12 inches of tongue and slurped. A ranger later explained that bulls have an inexplicable affinity for the taste of waterproofing.

The boomtown that wasn’t

As we were to find out, Theodore Roosevelt National Park had more adventure in store for us. The park consists of a South Unit and a North Unit (smaller but, some say, more scenic), 70 miles apart. The total acreage barely tops 70,000, about one-tenth the size of Yosemite, but the park is rich with history.

In 1883 a French nobleman, the Marquis de Mores, founded what is now the region’s principal town, Medora (population 100), named in honor of his young bride. Financed by his rich father-in-law, a New York banker, De Mores was poised to transform Medora into a boomtown. He built stores, a hotel and a meatpacking plant. He moved his family into a 26-room chateau, now a state historical site.

Within three years, though, the dream was over. Competition from Chicago meatpackers contributed to the failure of De Mores’ plant. He shut it down, returned to France with Medora and their two children in 1887, and nine years later died in the Sahara while trying to help drive the British from North Africa.

De Mores’ North Dakota plant sat idle until 1907, when fire all but destroyed the building. The only remnants are a charred chimney and the tumbled cornerstones.

The legacy of Roosevelt, an acquaintance of the marquis, has fared better. During his 1883 hunting expedition, Roosevelt was so taken by the land that he bought the Maltese Cross, a ranch eight miles south of Medora, before returning to New York. A year later, after the unrelated deaths of his wife, Alice, and mother, Martha, on the same day, he sought solace in North Dakota. It was during this trip that he purchased Elkhorn Ranch, 35 miles north of Medora.

Over time the land instilled in Roosevelt a passion for conservation that became a hallmark of his presidency. From 1901 to 1909, when he served as the nation’s 26th president, TR established five national parks, 18 national monuments, 51 wildlife refuges and the U.S. Forest Service. Though fate played a role in his ascendancy to the White House -- he was vice president when William McKinley was assassinated -- Roosevelt later credited those early years for some of his success. “I would never have been president if it had not been for my experiences in North Dakota,” he said.

Roosevelt artifacts fill the Medora Visitor Center. Steve summoned me to a white undershirt hanging behind glass and pointed to a hole, smaller than a dime, in the chest. A placard explained that Roosevelt wore this shirt on Oct. 14, 1912, in Milwaukee, where a would-be assassin shot him before he was to give a speech. Thanks to the thick text in his coat pocket, he survived.

A short walk out the visitor center’s back door leads to the restored Maltese Cross Cabin. The three-room bungalow is constructed of logs retrieved from train accidents and boat wrecks on the Little Missouri River. After hunting and ranching all day, Roosevelt retreated to this cabin, where he read two or three books a night.

The main attraction of the park’s South Unit is a 36-mile paved loop road. Scenic overlooks and myriad trail heads line the winding drive. Experienced hikers take trails such as the 16-mile round trip to the Petrified Forest, but with the temperature hovering between 80 and 90, we strolled down the Coal Vein Trail, just four-fifths of a mile.

Sixty million years of geologic forces created the landscape before us. Back when the Rockies were in their infancy, streams carried eroded material east, where they spread across the Great Plains. Successions of dry and wet periods through the millenniums encouraged plant growth, which then was compressed into coal under layers of sediment. Time sculpted these layers into the badlands.

At one overlook, I slipped my arm around Anne Marie’s waist and gazed across the valley. Twisting spires, saw-toothed ridges and yawning chasms filled the horizon. Sunlight illuminated the mountaintops in a soft alpenglow. Lavender shadows filled crags in the canyon like a rising tide. Anne Marie sighed and looked up at me. We smiled.

Prairie home companions

Back in the car, we headed toward the Beef Corral Overlook and the nearby prairie dog town, one of several in the park.

“Whoa, check that out,” Rebecca said, laughing and pointing out the window. Knee-high piles of dirt speckled a field where perky, buck-toothed critters popped and dropped from their holes. Kicking up puffs of soil, the chubby rodents scurried to the top of their earthen mounds, tossed their paws overhead and squealed.

Ranchers loathe these ravenous varmints because they consume precious crops, cowboys complain that their tunnels can break a steer’s leg and health experts implicated the animal in this summer’s monkey pox outbreak. To us, though, the sight was reminiscent of a silly amusement park game.

“It’s a real, live whack-a-mole arcade,” Rebecca said.

Seventy miles up U.S. 85, we arrived at the 24,000-acre North Unit, about half the size of the South Unit. We traveled along a 14-mile scenic drive.

At the Slump Block Pullout, flat-topped mounds of earth that looked as if they had been slashed with a scythe poked from the valley floor. These were remnants of bluffs, their bases eroded and the tops shifted to low ground. A sharp eye can piece together a slump formation and match bands of red clay, gray bentonite and black scoria.

In early evening we headed back toward our campground in the South Unit. On the horizon we spotted the Four Corners Cafe, where we grabbed a booth and perused the menu.

“I’m ordering ostrich,” Rebecca said, tapping the menu.

Sure enough, in bold letters under “Chef’s Specialties” was ostrich burgers. Served with ketchup and melted cheese on a sesame bun, this scrumptious delicacy tasted just like -- what else? -- chicken.

The next day we strolled the wood-planked walkways of Medora. Clapboard houses with gingerbread detailing lent an authentic Old West atmosphere. Cowboys tipped their Stetsons as they carted visitors across town in horse-drawn buggies. Banjo music drifted from the swinging doors of a saloon. We filled our bellies at chuck wagons and an ice cream parlor.

At 8:30 we joined the audience at the Burning Hills Amphitheater to see the “Medora Musical” ($21 or $23 for adults, $13 or $14 for students). Highlights of the show included trick roping, clogging, yodeling and a knee-slapping hootenanny. Rebecca and I laughed as a fiddler broke a string. Anne Marie waved her hat to the beat. Steve groaned at his family’s antics.

At the show’s climax, a scene from the Spanish-American War, Roosevelt charged up San Juan Hill, his Rough Riders close behind. As bugles blared, rockets flew and horses charged the summit, Teddy emerged triumphantly under the Stars and Stripes as it snapped sharply against a sky blazing with fireworks. Romance and glory, we discovered, still thrive in this wild and beautiful land.

*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Visiting North Dakota? Bully for you

GETTING THERE:

The nearest major airport for Theodore Roosevelt National Park is in Bismarck, N.D. From LAX, United and Northwest offer connecting service (change of planes). Restricted round-trip fares begin at $300.

WHERE TO STAY:

Rough Riders Hotel, 301 3rd Ave., Medora, ND 58645; (800) 633-6721 or (701) 623-4444, fax (701) 623-4494, www.medora.com. Built in 1884 by the Marquis de Mores. Theodore Roosevelt stayed here and gave a speech from its balcony. Doubles begin at $89 a night.

Medora Motel, 400 E. River Road South, Medora, ND 58645; same phone and Web site as Rough Riders Hotel; both managed by Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation. Heated outdoor pool. Doubles from $66.

AmericInn Motel and Suites, 75 E. River Road South, Medora, ND 58645; (800) 634-3444, fax (701) 623-4890, www.americinn.com. Fifty-six rooms, some with whirlpool tubs. Indoor pool. Continental breakfast included. Doubles start around $100.

Cottonwood and Juniper campgrounds, Theodore Roosevelt National Park (contact information under “To Learn More”). Cottonwood is in the South Unit and has 75 tent and RV sites; Juniper is in the North Unit and has 50 tent and RV sites. Flush toilets and running water, but no showers. No hookups for water or electricity. $10 a night; first come, first served.

WHERE TO EAT:

Four Corners Cafe, 2000 U.S. 85 S.W., Fairfield; (701) 575-8422. Ostrich burgers $2.75, daily special about $6.

Iron Horse Restaurant, 123 Pacific Ave., Medora; (701) 623-9894. Popular eatery with buffalo burgers, $6.

TO LEARN MORE:

Theodore Roosevelt National Park, visitor center at 315 2nd Ave. (P.O. Box 7), Medora, ND 58645; (701) 623-4730, Ext. 3417, fax (701) 623-4840, www.nps.gov/thro.

North Dakota Tourism Division, Century Center, 1600 E. Century Ave., Suite 2, Bismarck, ND 58503; (800) 435-5663 or (701) 328-2525, fax (701) 328-4878, www.ndtourism.com.

-- Joe McElwee

Joe McElwee is a freelance writer based in Pennsylvania. He has dragged his family on camping trips through 41 states and six Canadian provinces.