What a Butte

“Is this still America?” I asked my husband as we first caught a glimpse of the spires, hoodoos and buttressing buttes of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Amazing that as we drove west from Fargo, North Dakota all we saw was flat flat land and then these beautiful structures of lignite, sandstone, limestone and clinker rise up out of nowhere. It is incredible to see. The layers of stone are so beautiful and change colors with the drifting sun.

After spending an evening in Fargo with some of my husband’s relatives we meandered west to Medora to try and make it in time for the famed Medora Musical that has been running since 1965.

The outdoor stage is a fantastic set down in a coulee with the badlands as its backdrop. The musical is described on its website as “the rootin’-tootinest, boot-scootinest show in all the Midwest.” The flashy costumes and high-energy singers were a bit corny but they all had nice singing voices and it is definitely worth seeing given the unique venue if you find yourself in the area.

We spent one night at Sully Creek State park and it was a beautiful albeit buggy location. I actually accidentally forgot to book any nights at Teddy Roosevelt so we ended up taking a night from Wind Cave (next park) and were able to fit one up here.

Glad we found a place here just the day before when I noticed my error. It would not have been a good idea to skip out on this park. Although we only spent one day here I feel like I got a good flavor of what it has to offer yet it left me craving for more.

We started the day by driving up to the North Unit which doesn’t see as many visitors as the South Unit (as it’s 62 miles further north) and drove the scenic route through the park. It’s too bad people miss out because I think it is the better of the two units. So many gorgeous vistas and it was there I saw my first wild bison.

I hiked the Caprock Coulee Nature Trail and learned a lot from the self-guided tour book that was in a box at the beginning of the trailhead. It was a hot but gorgeous hike and as it had just rained a ton the trail was very muddy. As I went to the base of a butte to look more closely at the rivulets of the rock my foot got sucked down into deep mud up to my ankle and I twisted my knee. I tried to scrape some of the muddy clay off but it dried and hardened making the trek back a bit more difficult (I later spent about 30 minutes in a truck stop bathroom trying to scrub my shoes and feet in the sink).

The sage brush smelled wonderful and the petrified wood was neat to see. Also interesting to note that the north side was lush with vegetation like juniper trees whereas the south-side facing buttes saw more sun and there was minimal growth on their surfaces.

We then took the scenic park drive out to the Oxbow Overlook at the end of the 14 mile stretch where you then turn around back to the entrance. As I was walking out to the overlook, a ranger-in-training stopped me from walking near the edge as there was a bison perched on a ledge close by and she didn’t want me to startle it. It was neat to watch him lazily lounge, flick his tail and wallow. He eventually stood up and slowly stepped up the hill. Nervous, the ranger wannabe tried to shoo everyone back to the parking area.

This animal is the tank of the Midwest and can reach land speed of up to 35 mph so you definitely don’t want to mess. Really neat to see him up close and personal. He is the symbol of the great American West and I felt like if after this we didn’t see any more parks it would be OK.

The Little Missouri River was beautiful to gaze out over.

We then made our way down to the South Unit of the park after stopping at the Painted Canyon Visitor Center for the incredibly scenic view and picture by the park sign.

The South Unit has a 36-mile scenic route but we were only able to drive half of it as the other half was closed to large vehicles and trailers (unfortunately we weren’t driving our scooters this time). On our way down the scenic road we stopped at a prairie dog town to listen to those cute little creatures chatter and dart in and out of their holes. Very fascinating to see them in action and listen to their various chirps.

On our way out of the park we spotted a majestic pronghorn antelope grazing at the base of a butte.

This is a butte-iful park and when I close my eyes I see the fantastic layers and lines and colors and hold on to them in my memory in hopes of admiring again one day. I definitely can say I underestimated North Dakota and the beauty that it is to the world. I now appreciate it that much more and don’t see it as just a flat bean-producing, corn-growing state.