Hey Guys!
This post continues our time in the Dakotas, Nebraska and Wyoming!
Our travel dates were June 26 – July 6, 2024.
Read Day 1 here, Day 2 here & Click here to see links to all of my blog posts
We started our morning with coffee at our hotel in Bowman, ND.
The hotel offered a free continental breakfast but personally, I am not a fan of continental breakfasts at hotels. It kind of grosses me out!
The town of Bowman is small. It has a population of less than 2,000 people so there aren’t many food options here.
If you need snacks, water, etc, you can purchase those at the grocery store in Bowman called Bronson’s Marketplace
Click here & here for places to eat breakfast in Bowman & here for things to do …surprisingly, there are a few interesting things to see/do here…like the oldest theater in ND and lots of cool murals
After having our coffee, we packed up and checked out around 8:30 am.
Our first stop of the day would be the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
The drive from Bowman to the park takes approx. 1 hr 10 mins.
Shortly after leaving our hotel, I spotted the Bowman sign.…I had seen pictures of this sign when I was researching our trip and was hoping we would find it!
It’s a quirky little roadside attraction but I love stuff like this lol!
It was a cowboy riding a missile that was propped up by an old fire truck!
Near the fire truck was a sign that had the town’s name on it!
There were all kinds of oddities here….from a bridge to planes!
After taking our pictures, we continued our drive.
For the next hour, our views were nothing but the flat prairie lands!
Tip: Make sure you have plenty of gas, water and snacks when you are driving in these states as there is nothing around for miles and download offline Google maps so your Google Maps app will continue to work even when you have no service!
About 1.5 hrs after leaving our hotel, we finally arrived to our first stop, the Painted Canyon area of the park.
Here you will find the Painted Canyon Visitors Center along with the National Park sign and a couple of trails that you can hike.
One of the trails located here is called the Painted Canyon Nature Trail and the other is called Painted Canyon Trail.
This area was very crowded!
Bison are often spotted in this area but sadly, we didn’t see any.
After taking our picture with the park sign, we headed inside the visitor center.
We decided to purchase a t-shirt at the visitor center in case we couldn’t find one somewhere else….got to have our t-shirts! 😉
After making our purchase, we walked outside behind the visitor center to check out the views.
We spotted the trailhead for the Painted Canyon Nature trail ...I had it on our itinerary but we decided not to hike it.
After spending about 30 mins here, we continued our drive.
It was really weird because the visitor’s center was the only thing off of this exit…to get to the main entrance of the park, you had to get back on the interstate and drive another 10 mins further!
From the Painted Canyon Visitor Center, just put in Maltese Cross Cabin or South Unit Visitor Center into your GPS and it will get you to the main entrance station off of exit 27.
As we neared the exit to the park, we spotted some horses….we weren’t sure if they were the wild horses that live in the park or not.
Tip: For horse back riding in this area, click here
After we exited off of the highway, our drive took us through the small town of Medora where we would be spending our third night.
Click here for things to see/do in Medora
As you enter the park, you will have another opportunity to take your picture in front of the national park sign.
At this entrance, you will pay the $30 entrance fee. It’s good for 7 days.
Tip: If you will be visiting more than 2 national parks and/or national monuments, you may want to purchase the America the Beautiful pass to save money. It’s $80 and is good for one year from date of purchase.
Always get your map at the entrance station so you can see where things are located in the park. 
Shortly after entering the park, we stopped at an overlook that had views of the small town of Medora.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park was established in 1947 as a national memorial park to honor President Roosevelt.
Tip: The South Unit‘s scenic drive is a 48 mile scenic drive beginning and ending in Medora, ND. Driving alone takes 2 hours. Allow additional time for whatever activities you do or stops you make along the way. However, there is currently construction going on and part of the loop drive is closed so it will be an in/out drive instead of a loop until construction is complete.
After this stop, we came to an area where there were lots of prairie dogs.
There are five species of prairie dogs in North America, but only the black-tailed prairie dog inhabits Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
Named for their bark-like calls and black-tipped tail, black-tailed prairie dogs are small, short-tailed animals with eyes and small ears set far back on their heads.
Our next stop was the Skyline Vista Overlook.
The short walk is 0.2 miles round trip on a paved, flat trail.
The views here are similar to those you will see in the Badlands National Park.
From this overlook, you could see the Little Missouri River in the distance.
The views here were beautiful!
We had perfect weather too…..blue skies and cool temperatures!
After this stop, we continued our drive through the park.
The views along the loop drive are really cool!
The park wasn’t crowded at all! We were told by someone that it was the least visited park in the US but according to this list that I found online, that’s not the case.
According to the park’s statistics, there are about 600,000 people a year that visit the park.
However, that’s a far cry from the Great Smoky Mountain National park that gets over 13 million visitors a year!
We pulled over when we saw these crazy rock formations!
These are hard sandstone shields that are caused from rain erosion that sometimes form pillars with caprocks.
After this stop, we headed to our next stop, Wind Canyon Trail.
This trail is a short 0.7 miles round trip.
This trail will give you the best views of the Little Missouri River.
Tip: Keep your eyes open for the wild horses, bison and other animals that roam the park!
There were sheer drop offs in some locations on this hike so be careful!
The views from the overlook are really pretty!
You will get to see some cool rock formations here as well!
Tip: There are more than 185 different species of birds in the park …including eagles! So keep an eye out!
I spotted this bird but couldn’t figure out what it was.
Some shots of the Little Missouri River.
We saw a lot of cacti and flowers blooming in the park.
There’s a a set of stairs that’s carved out of the sand that you will have to climb in order to get the best views of the river.
A few more shots of this area
After this stop, we continued our drive….the park was so green!
We saw more rock formations as we were driving.
From the Scenic Loop Road, we turned onto Jones Creek Trail road and spotted the Upper Jones Creek Trailhead.
This trail is 13.4 miles round trip….no thanks!
Strangely, I couldn’t find anything online about this trail….only this one with a similar name but it’s 7 miles round trip.
From what I’ve found online, there is an upper and a lower Jones Creek Trail.
For a complete list of hikes in the park, click here & to see a map of the park, including the 6 mile section that is closed, click here
Driving Jones Creek Trail road 
After this short stop, we headed back to the Scenic Loop Rd and made another stop at the Boicourt Overlook.
From this overlook, the Little Missouri Badlands seem to go on forever!
Also located at this stop, is the Boicourt Overlook Scenic Loop Trail.
This trail offers two viewpoints.
One of the trails is approx. 0.2 miles round trip.
Pictures of the views
The other trail is 0.3 miles round trip and is a paved trail.
I think you can continue the trail past the paved section but we turned around at the end of the pavement.
The views here are nice but not Wow worthy in my honest opinion.
Honestly, there were a few times that I wondered to myself why this was even a national park.
Shortly after leaving this stop and continuing along the scenic loop road, we spotted the wild horses!
Thankfully, I had brought my Cannon 50x zoom lens camera with me because they were way too far from the road to get a good picture with our cellphones!
This is a picture I took with my cellphone.
And these are pictures I took with my Cannon camera.
I’ve had this camera for years….I only take it on trips when I know there’s a possibility of seeing wildlife.
It was really cool seeing the horses….thankfully, the park system allowed them to stay!
They had recently discussed removing the roughly 200 wild horses from the park but due to lots of people advocating for their stay, they decided to keep them in the park but could reduce their numbers down to 35-60 just because they aren’t native to the park!
After taking way too many pictures of the horses, we continued our drive.
We made a quick stop when we say an informational plaque that was describing landscape.
As we continued our drive, we had a pronghorn cross the road right in front of us!
Pronghorns are the fastest land animal in North America, and are often seen in the park!
Right after seeing the pronghorn, we arrived to the section of the loop road that was closed.
This road has been closed since May 2019 due to sinkholes…it is expected to be finished by fall 2024.
At this point, we turned around and headed back the way we had come.
After we got turned around, we spotted a gravel road so decided to drive it.
I had read that you should try to drive the gravel roads throughout the park because they offer scenic views and are usually only 1 mile long.
The views on this drive were beautiful!
We saw lots of cacti blooming!
Later on our drive, we came to Buck Hill.
This was after we had finished driving the gravel road.
Buck Hill trail is 0.4 miles round trip and is the highest point in the South unit of the park.
This is a short but steep walk to the top!
The views were really nice but it was so windy at the top!! We almost got blown away!! 😉
After spending a few minutes here, we continued our drive.
We spotted another group of wild horses!
We even saw one eating near a bison!! 
Some of the views in the park were really beautiful while some were just ok!
We saw a lone bison standing on top of a hill!
The south unit is home to approx. 300 bison!
We came up on another gravel road and decided to drive it as well since it was only one mile long.
The views on this drive were really pretty.
We saw some really unique rock formations on this drive.
We spotted another bison while driving this road!
Once we arrived back to the entrance, we decided to stop at the visitor center so we could see the Maltese Cross Cabin.
Tip: Just to give you an idea, we spent 4 hrs in the park
After getting parked, we headed inside the visitor center.
At the visitor center, you can watch a 17-minute park film that will help you get acquainted with the park and its history. The museum and Theodore Roosevelt’s Maltese Cross Cabin are open during visitor center operating hours.
The museum inside the visitor center was really interesting!
It told all about the life of Teddy Roosevelt.
Teddy Roosevelt was the youngest president at the time…he was only 42 yrs old. He only became president when President William McKinley was assassinated.
In 1884, his first wife Alice Lee Roosevelt and his mother Martha died on the same day and only two days after the birth of his daughter, Alice. Roosevelt spent much of the next two years on his properties in the Dakota Badlands.
He lived an interesting life for sure!
I had no idea he had survived an assassination attempt!
After walking through the museum, we headed outside to see the cabin.
The cabin is located directly behind the visitor center.
It was originally located about 7 miles south of Medora in the wooded bottomlands of the Little Missouri river.
During Roosevelt’s presidency, the cabin was acquired for the 1904 World’s Fair, hosted in St. Louis, MO.
The cabin traveled from Missouri to Portland, OR for the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition. It would spend time in Fargo, ND before settling on the grounds of the state capital in Bismarck, ND.
The Daughters of the American Revolution eventually took over the care of the cabin, and acquired many of the items you can see today. In 1959, twelve years after the park was established, the Maltese Cross Cabin came to Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
The cabin was constructed in 1883 and was a temporary home for the president.
It had wooden floors and contained a living room, kitchen and a bedroom.
Several items that are displayed in the cabin belonged to Teddy Roosevelt.
This white hutch was used by Roosevelt as a bookcase and a writing desk.
The traveling trunk inscribed with Roosevelt’s initials sits in the bedroom.
A few more pictures of the inside 
After leaving the cabin, we headed to the nearby remains of an old slaughterhouse and meat packing plant that was built in 1883.
It was built by the wealthy Marquis family who also had a home in NYC.
You can also tour the 26 room home of the Marquis family in Medora…it’s called the Chateau de Mores.
The ruins of the Marquis’ meat-packing plant, situated on the west edge of Medora, are called Chimney Park.
The plant closed in November 1886, a failure due to fierce competition from major Chicago-based packers, the effects of bad weather and drought, and the Marquis’s inexperience in business.
When the Marquis left Medora in 1886, the plant was abandoned. The building burned in 1907.
All that remains intact is the tall, brick chimney.
There are few other remains scattered throughout the grounds of the park.
Tip: They were holding their annual car show while we were here but we missed it. They hold it in this park.
After leaving the park, we headed to our hotel to check in.
We stayed at the Americinn by Wyndham Medora.
I used the Booking app to book most all of my hotels and this was the only option I saw in Medora!
Click here for hotels in Medora
The hotel was nice but it was one of the most expensive hotels we stayed in during our 11 day trip!
It was definitely overpriced!
The hotel had a lodge feel to it with all of the animal heads hanging around.
They had a pool and offered a free continental breakfast.
Our room had two queen beds and a small bathroom.
Read reviews here
After getting settled into our room, we headed out to dinner.
Click here to see a list of restaurants
Walking through the town of Medora
It was a cute, western themed town!
We decided on a restaurant that I had on my list called Boots Bar & Grill.
We were starving as all we had eaten all day were some snacks that we had in the car!
The place was really crowded but we got seated as soon as we arrived.
After getting seated, we looked over the menu.
We both decided on the 12 oz grilled ribeye that came with a side of sauteed bleu cheese spinach and a loaded baked potato.
The food was delicious!!
Read reviews here
After dinner, we walked through the town.
Once my hubby spotted this map with push pins, he just had to place a pin on the map! 😉
There are a lot of historical buildings scattered throughout the small town.
On a mission to find a Medora tshirt!
We loved all of the cute, colorful buildings!
On our walk, we came up on a statue of Teddy Roosevelt so my hubby just had to have his picture taken with him! 😉
Ok, ok,..I know he’s reading this…I suggested he stand by Teddy so I could take his picture! But look at him….he was thrilled about it!! lol!!
Near the statue was the historic Old Town Hall Theater that was built in 1924.
As president, Teddy Roosevelt returned to Medora in 1903. A public reception was held in the old Medora Town Hall.
Pictures of more buildings we saw in town.
After exploring the town, we headed to the Medora Musical.
I had purchased tickets for this in advance after reading about it during my research.
The musical started at 7:30 but the doors opened at 6:45… we wanted to get there a few minutes early so we could take some pictures and find our seats.
On our drive there, we spotted a rainbow!
Arriving to the musical
This place is up a steep hill in Medora with some beautiful views!
Tip: There are stairs, an escalator and an elevator located here
We took the escalator down to get to our seats 
Have your tickets ready because they will scan them before you go down the escalator.
I purchased tickets for 3 Lower/R/ seats 19 & 20 and here’s the view we had of the stage from our seats.
I don’t think any seat is bad but just in case you want to be closer to the restrooms or snack bar, you will want to sit closer to the top.
Here’s a view of the seating
It was really cool the night we went so we ended up purchasing a blanket at the musical for $25!
We noticed several people had brought their own…must have been locals lol!
I wasn’t sure what to expect as I had read some mixed reviews about it but we were so happy that we decided to go….it was so good!
It was very patriotic and it brought me to tears when they started singing Amazing Grace!
During that song, look what happened! We got to witness one of the most amazing rainbows with old glory flying right in front of it!
If you look closely, it was actually a double rainbow!
I HIGHLY recommend you see this musical!!
Read reviews here
The amphitheater was carved into the hillside in 1958. “Teddy Roosevelt Rides Again” was the title of the show when it opened in 1965. It eventually evolved into the Medora Musical.
Over one hundred costumes are designed and constructed for the show each year.
One of the actors, Day-Vawn Miller, is from Nashville! This was his 3rd summer doing the musical.
Have your camera ready near the end of the show so you don’t miss taking pictures of the fireworks!
Another shot of the amphitheater
Tip: They are in the middle of building the Theodore Roosevelt National Library in the same location as the musical. It will open in 2026.
After leaving here, we headed back to our hotel and called it a night!
We had a full 13-14 hour day!!
Thanks for reading!
Stay tuned for Day 4!
Read Day 1 here, Day 2 here and click here to see links to all of my blog posts