Medora is located in the far western part of North Dakota, almost next to the Montana border. It’s where Theodore Roosevelt National Park is located. There isn’t much else here, but between the National Park and just enough to see and do in Medora, it’s just enough.
Medora, North Dakota
The area is beautiful. Short intense summers and cold winters. It was founded in 1883 and named after a French nobleman’s wife, Medora. He wanted to ship refrigerated meat from his meat packing plant to Chicago via the Northern Pacific Railway.
Less than a couple hundred people live here. Most of the downtown area is tourist oriented with hotels, shops, bars and restaurants. We were there in mid-May, so only about half of the stores were open, most don’t open until Memorial Day.
Boots RV Campground, Medora
Boots had 50-amp service, good water pressure, sewer and fast enough WIFI to stream. There was no office, check-in, showers or other amenities, but that was fine with us. Just the basics at a great price. A huge perk was that we got to wash the truck and RV, which only happens about every three months.
A fox visited the campground one evening. This is the first time we have seen one not in captivity.
We had 30 mph winds with gusts to 60 mph with rain. A full rainbow, but too fleeting to swap lens to a wide angle to capture it.
There was a lunar eclipse during our stay. I was able to capture the Blood Moon. We were surprised how fast the moon rose above the horizon and the eclipse happened, but then it seemed to last forever.
Boots Bar and Grill
Owned by the same people as the RV park, the food and wine was good. The staff were friendly too.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
Theodore Roosevelt first came to North Dakota in the fall of 1883 to hunt Bison.
He was enamored with the west and bought a ranch. After his wife and mother died in 1884, he started the Elkhorn Ranch approximately 35 miles north of Medora. His writings about the rugged area were published and people loved reading about “Dakota”. His experiences in the west were instrumental to conservation policies during his Presidency from 1901-1909.
Roosevelt died in 1919. In 1935, the area was designated the Roosevelt Recreation Demonstration Area. In 1946 it became the Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge. The South Unit became the Theodore Roosevelt National Memorial Park and the North Unit was added in 1948. It wasn’t until 1978 that it became a National Park.
The park consists of a North and South Unit. Well, there is also the Elkhorn Ranch Unit, which is where Theodore Roosevelt had his ranch, and there is the Painted Desert overlook.
The Little Missouri River flows through all three units. The park covers over 70,000 acres.
North Unit
The North Unit is about an hour’s drive north of the south unit near Watford City. Unfortunately, half of the park road was still closed until Memorial Day.
The wildlife and geology are similar to the South Unit. There were bison, wild horses, turkey, grouse, prairie dogs and deer.
South Unit
The South Unit is next to Medora. We saw bison, wild horses with foals, prairie dogs, turkey, deer and pronghorn.
The rock formations were stunning.
It was spring. Wildflowers were just starting to bloom. Pasque flowers are a favorite.
A magpie and prairie dog. Mud was the biggest problem. Crews were still trying to clear the roads.
