It's about a 2 hour drive to the south unit of Theodore Roosevelt. The park is split into two units (north and south). We decide to start at the bottom and head back up North second. The bottom unit has more stops and longer trails and routes and we figure it might be busier there as well. When we pass the north unit entrance we see a bit of a line to get in, and assume it will be crazy at the south unit. Much to our surprise, it wasn't! We were in the south unit quickly and were even able to buy the 'America the Beautiful Pass' which allows you in every National Park for 1 year. Since we are visiting so many on the trip...it just makes sense. We stop at the visitor parking, use the restrooms and grab a map. Gideon becomes the tour guide and navigator for us in the park. It works out beautifully because he does not really care about taking pictures, isn't a huge fan of the scenery (the only McFarland who isn't) and LOVES history and maps. He reads the entire historical founding of the park and leads us through it.
He tells us all about Theodore Roosevelt and how he ONLY became a president to save the land and create National Parks. Did you know that? Me neither. He also lost both his mom and his 1st wife on Valentine's Day and then went to North Dakota to grieve. This is where he discovered his love for the land.
There are three small hikes we are interested in (all less than 1 mile). It is 93 degrees but we got this. At the first stop it is an amazing view of the rocks. The whole park is essentially dirt and rocks in small and large mounds that look like mountains. The dirt and rock has been eroded over time and they are now all different colors including bright pink, peach, blue, grey and black. It is just gorgeous to look at. Combine that with wild horses, bison, deep blue sky and beautiful clouds and it is breathtaking. Abby and I do a lot of involuntary "wow-ing". We take a ton of pictures while Gideon reads all the plaques and informational signs. Gideon also takes on the work of cleaning up the litter at the parks and grabs everything he can to throw out later. So he's not into the views in the park, but into making sure it's clean. He also found his "zen" at one spot. What a guy.
Back to the car and on our way to hike 2 and the temperature goes up to 99 degrees. Ok we'll walk slowly and stay hydrated. Another small hike and great view and lots of great pictures. There are also some other overlooks and quick stops here and there combined with stopping in the middle of the road to take pictures of animals. One such animal is the prairie dog. There are multiple 'prairie dog towns' in this park. There are hundreds of little prairie dog holes in the ground and they are all standing at the top of their holes doing that stereotypical prairie dog stance. I guess they are used to it from the tourist expectations. I didn't get many pictures of them because I was driving but Abby and Adam did!
By the time we get to the last hike it is 104 degrees (it was 106 for a minute too). We avoid the longer hike and just walk a portion of it to see if there is anything majorly different. Snap a lot more pictures and turn around to head back to the start of the park. This park has a full loop road that tours it, but half of the road was closed down. We still got to see so much though and remind ourselves of the beauty in the world we live in.
Back at the gift shop, Gideon finds a National Park Monopoly game. He is Monopoly addicted because he ALWAYS slays the rest of the family and leaves us all destitute on Baltic Ave while he is living large on Boardwalk and Park Place. Typically the game goes on for 4 - 5 hours. I see his eyes light up while he shows it to me...hours of devastation flash before my eyes knowing I will have to endure the equivalent of days of my life being destroyed by Gideon in Monopoly if I buy this game, but ultimately he wins (again) and the game is now in the trunk of the car. We also chat with some park rangers while we are there who are very nice and also Monopoly obsessed and very upset that Theodore Roosevelt National Park is not included in the National Park Monopoly game. One of them goes "heh, of COURSE Yellowstone is on it". Uhm, yes sir. I agree of COURSE it is. Also, what a weird competition you are in with other National Parks. I wonder if there is like a ranger ranking we don't know about and the Yellowstone rangers are snotty.
We have about 1 hour after leaving the south unit before we get to the north unit to hydrate and recover from the heat. AND somewhere along the way to the south unit, we went into Mountain time and gained another hour, but on the drive back to the north unit we lose that hour and are entering the park pretty late (4pm). We drink more liquids than I thought was possible to hold and make it to the north unit where there is no longer a line! This unit is much smaller and has a road tour which is only 14 miles long with some small overlooks. We intend to do three of the overlooks and based on the dropping temperature, it seems doable. We all agree that this park is a bit prettier and visually more impressive, but it lacks the wildlife we saw in the south unit. We make it to all three overlooks, one of which looks like a place you could get married at. Gideon still leads us through the park and tells us historical facts as we move through it. On my pics page you can see WAAAAY too many pictures of the parks that will all look the same to you. If it helps, I took 10x the amount you see on that page...that is the skinnied down version. Feel free to scroll quickly.
The day took much longer than expected and as we're heading back the hour drive to the hotel I realize I am dreading another weird dinner. This leads to us getting Dominos for dinner - something we're all looking forward to because lunch was a series of snacks and drinks in the car. We bring the pizza back to our room and enjoy in the AC. I also grab our Wander Tokens for Theodore Roosevelt and distribute them. We have keychains of all the parks we have been to and everytime we visit a park, we add a new token. Everyone is excited to have a new token on their keychain. We do a bit of packing but ultimately head to bed early. There was a lot of napping from the kids today, and Adam and I are pretty tired too. We are asleep by 9am and it feels incredible.
Summary: Wows are required at National Parks, Senior Egg was a yummy adventure but sometimes you craze the stuff you know (Dominos). Ended the day at the Holiday Inn, Willison, ND (again)