Eons of river flows, rain, snow, and wind, carved the Badlands of North Dakota. In turn, this unforgiving wilderness with its stark landscapes shaped, transformed, and hardened the man we know today as Theodore Roosevelt.
Broken and grief stricken after his wife and mother both died in his New York City brownstone on the same night in 1884, TR left the city and immersed himself in the hard life of a rancher in North Dakota. When he emerged several years later, he was renewed and ready to return to the political arena and national leadership.
Visiting his presidential library and the national park named for him provided us with a unique opportunity to get to know our 26th president in ways not possible anywhere else. The beauty of the park was worth the visit on its own. We gazed at bison, wild horses, and prairie dogs aplenty as we drove and hiked around the park.
TR Library