Teddy Roosevelt's favorite place on earth

We were staying (for the 4th time) at our friends’ ranch, at the Eastern edge of Dickinson, on a hill, surrounded by a huge piece of land where over 100 head of cattle and four horses graze peacefully. Quiet, remote and with incredible views and sunsets (left photo). 

 

Dickinson,  „The Western Edge of North Dakota“, is a spread-out city with a population of about 25,000 closeby the Montana border. It is considered the gateway to the Theodore Roosevelt National Park, and, it's ranch and cattle country. 

The city exploded around 2012, when the North Dakota oil boom hit: oil extraction from the Bakken Formation, which constitutes one of the largest deposits of oil and natural gas in the USA. After 2015 growth slowed down, oil industry moved on, but still North Dakota ranks third in the nation, after Texas and New Mexico, in both crude oil reserves and production.  

Since we were here on a "Teddy Roosevelt mission", we went to an exhibition in the Dickinson State University’s Theodore Roosevelt Center first, to get into the right mood. The next day we drove over to Medora, an easy, and, considering fall colors, beautiful 40-min. drive. 

This pitturesque town is surrounded by breathtaking nature with Theodore Roosevelt National Park in the background (pics far below). It's known for its western culture,  has the ND Cowboy Hall of Fame, the Medora Musical (in a beautiful amphitheater), and, is famous for its Pitchfork Steak Fondue. There is The Chateau de Mores (the hunting lodge of a visionary French entrepreneur), and, along Main Street, several historic buildings with nice little shops (like our favorite bookstore, Western Edge Books) or the oldest Saloon in Medora, the Little Missouri Saloon (photo below) - where we had lunch.

 

 

 

When Theodore Roosevelt came to the Dakota Territory to get over his depression and to hunt bison in 1883, he was a skinny dude from New York. He immediately fell in love with the area and invested in cattle and ranches. In 1901 Roosevelt became the youngest president in U.S. history, serving until 1909. He called his years in the badlands "the romance of my life" and often credited them enabling him to become president. As president, Roosevelt created five national parks.

 

Eventually, TR gets a Presidential Library, in his favorite spot, a spectacular building up in Medora. The complex, designed by famous architectural company Snohetta from Norway, is supposed to be accomplished in 2026, but on our tour we were already able to get a good idea about how it'll look. The main building’s gently sloping green roof looks to the northeast, gazing out to the National Park and echoing the landforms of the surrounding Badlands. There will be interactive exhibitions, walking trails with outlooks and pavilions around the building, native plants, a restaurant etc.  (For more renderings see: www.snohetta.com/projects/the-theodore-roosevelt-presidential-library).

We had such a wonderful and peaceful time on the ranch, got a bit of rest and good food: fresh-caught walleye, steaks, burgers, bacon. Even more important, we had such good conversation, we "helped" repair fences, watched the horses, enjoyed the sunsets and sunrises (weather was beautiful!), had beer on the porch and went into town for some hole-in-the-wall bars (and the local brewery).