Backroad Odyssey : Travel Stories, Van Life & Road Trip Oddities
Traveling America's backroads, road trip experts - Noah and Noodles - explore fascinating locations overlooked while traveling.
Living out of a van, they unravel the - often shocking - story behind each neglected story or location.
If you love travel, exploration and unique locations - join us on the road!
Backroad Odyssey : Travel Stories, Van Life & Road Trip Oddities
Van Life Diaries - Theodore Roosevelt National Park
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Today we visit the North Dakota Badlands where the too often overlooked Theodore Roosevelt National Park lingers in the shadows...
While there, we answer the following questions:
- How did Theodore Roosevelt come to have a National Park named after him?
- Why is this sidelined National Park unique?
- Why should you add this fascinating park to your travel bucket list?
We'll also answer listener questions at the end - safe travels!
Works Cited:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/2711623?read-now=1&seq=6#page_scan_tab_contents
https://www.jstor.org/stable/23349843?read-now=1&seq=28#page_scan_tab_contents
https://www.nps.gov/thro/learn/historyculture/park-history.htm
https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/the-national-parks/theodore-roosevelt
https://npshistory.com/publications/roosevelt/index.htm
https://www.nps.gov/thro/learn/nature/bison-buffalo.htm
Noah and Noodles here!
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Introduction to Van Life Diaries
Speaker 1Welcome to Van Life Diaries . I'm your host , noah , joined as always by my dog and co-host , noodles the Woodle . If you've been with the show , welcome back . If you're new here , a welcome from me and a bark from Noodles . Today we're visiting the North Dakota Badlands where the too-often-overlooked Theodore Roosevelt National Park lingers in the shadows , with its colorful carved rock formations and thriving buffalo herds . Well , there we answer the following questions 1 . How did Theodore Roosevelt come to have a national park named after him ? Interesting story there . 2 . Why is this sidelined national park , along with its wildlife , unique ? We'll also answer listener questions at the end , but for now , join Noodles and I on our way to the Dakota Badlands .
Speaker 1Safe travels . I wonder where this road would lead . So many possibilities . Care to share what you think . Oh , noodle Dolls , what do you see Back Road Odyssey .
Speaker 1The rolling hills of the prairie extend beyond sight . Steep gullies , sandstone formations , winding waterways , nomadic buffalo this is North Dakota , and this is the land the 24-year-old Theodore Roosevelt visits
Roosevelt's Dakota Badlands Connection
Speaker 1in the summer of 1883 . Just months after this first visit , both his mother and wife die on the same day . The open skies of North Dakota then become a refuge , a place of peace for the future president , a place of peace for the future , president , the kind of peace only achieved by endless skies , untouched land and open air , a serenity that Roosevelt would come to believe should be protected and accessible to all . We are in the van and we're camped just west of the south unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park , right atop a large hill overlooking the park and a valley park , right atop a large hill overlooking the park and a valley . And there are certain places in the nation where you feel the space that you're in no traffic , no buildings , just space , open air . And I'm sure this is the feeling , this is the space chased by Theodore , or let's call him Teddy Roosevelt , on his various excursions into the wilderness .
Speaker 1I want to start with a 1903 quote given by Teddy that I have on my phone right here . It was given at the rim of the Grand Canyon , and after this I'll ask a couple questions . Roosevelt at the rim of the canyon says quote leave it as it is . You cannot improve on it . What you can do is to keep it for your children , your children's children and for all who come after you . End quote . So , with that said , here are my questions .
Speaker 1How did Teddy come to feel strongly about conservation in general . And how did that drive , that desire to conserve , lead to his later reputation as the champion of conservation and ultimately to his name ending up on the sign of an American national park , on the sign of an American national park ? From a young age , theodore Roosevelt showed an interest in the natural world . His foray into taxidermy yielded a vast collection of birds , small mammals and eventually large game from Africa and the wilds of America . And while this might come across as slightly unappreciative or disregarding of the wilds and creatures that live there , it does solidify , at least in Roosevelt , an appreciation for the wilds , an appreciation that later turns into concrete policy that protects lands , kind of ironically , and the animals that he shot and collected . Well , an alderman in New York in 1883 , roosevelt takes a hunting trip to the Dakota Badlands and the land would , as mentioned , become an invaluable retreat for Teddy . He later buys a ranch in the Dakota Badlands and returns regularly to hunt , to ride and to hike .
Speaker 1After his inauguration as President of the United States in 1901 , following the assassination of William McKinley , roosevelt for the first time now has the immense power of the presidency at his disposal . And while he pursues other policies , other goals , while in office , mediating the Russo-Japanese War , the construction of the Panama Canal , halting unchecked monopolies of the Gilded Age barons that took advantage of the system . Conservation becomes his most recognizable legacy . We left our campsite and are now driving to the park . The sky's a bit dark , let's hope it doesn't rain on us today . But whatever happens happens .
Speaker 1And here is a quick question . Okay , we see Roosevelt today as this mustachioed masculine champion of conservation . But what specifically did he do ? Okay , right , what actions , what policies
Roosevelt's Conservation Legacy
Speaker 1, what movement towards conservation did he support ? Tangibly ? Because and I'm sure Teddy would agree with this talk is cheap . Talk is cheap Until it's not .
Speaker 1Roosevelt is really the first president to fully embrace the wide-reaching nature of his office . He embraces the fact that the president can use the status and power of the office to frame the debate rather than to react to the whims and wishes of others , of all the forces of politics , of others of all the forces of politics . Most simply put , roosevelt knows that whatever he does as president is newsworthy . So he exploits this visibility and pressures Congress , not directly but through their constituents , by focusing on growing environmental issues , amplified by the bully pulpit . It becomes difficult for the American public and , by extension , for Congress , to overlook the mishandling and mistreatment of American land . In part , this strategy , this presence , this microphone , this is what leads to five national parks under Roosevelt , which required specific legislation to be passed through Congress . But it's the Antiquities Act , signed on June 8 , 1906 , that enables Teddy to go crazy with his conservation agenda . Essentially , this act enables Roosevelt and his successors to proclaim historical landmarks in federal ownership as national monuments . Importantly , without congressional approval . Teddy very loosely interprets this act and proclaims 105 national monuments , all now federally protected . In all , theodore Roosevelt , through laws , persistent communication and a genuine desire to conserve the wilds he frequents throughout his life , opens the nation's eyes to the natural wonders around them when the dust settles around them . When the dust settles , teddy is credited with saving 230 million acres of American wilderness , a legacy that extends well beyond his death in 1919 .
Speaker 1We're in the park . It's sprinkly a little bit , but that's okay . We're parked on the side of the road . So Teddy didn't create the park for himself and name it after himself . That would be wild . It was a memorial park in 1947 , something
The Unique Badlands Landscape
Speaker 1like that , and was later elevated to a national park in the 70s . It's called Theodore Roosevelt National Park one because he credits this land in part as the basis for his conservation beliefs , and two because people later on , after his death , wanted to acknowledge everything that he did for America's wilds and wildlife . It's a place set aside to provide the peace that Teddy found in this place and other places around the nation throughout his life .
Speaker 1Now let's get to the land itself . What makes where I'm at special and why should you travel to the North Dakota Badlands ? Over thousands of years , the Little Missouri River and its tributaries cut through the soft sedimentary layers of the northern Great Plains . Snow , ice , wind all add their touches to the landscape . Water , though infrequent at times , gathers in heavy erosive downpours , forming gullies . Prairie fires ignite coal beds throughout the valley , and these beds can burn for years and bake the overlaying sediments into hard natural brick , and bake the overlaying sediments into hard natural brick . This brick then oxidizes and turns into a brilliant red . It's this that gives the landscape its characteristic color and it further shapes the land . This hardened , baked rock is now more resistant than the unbaked sections of land . So over time , erosion wears down these less resilient rocks and voila , you have a jumbled , multicolored landscape of uneven knobs , ridges and ravines the landscape of Theodore Roosevelt National Park .
Speaker 1But any landscape is only as interesting as those that live upon it . Prairie dogs populate the divots in the grasslands , over 200 bird species thrive in the open skies and elk roam seeking the plentiful edible grasses . But maybe the animal most associated with Theodore Roosevelt National Park are the herds of massive American buffalo . The rain lets up a bit . I'm out here at one of the pullouts in the park , so one of the main reasons I'm here is passing up Narrow Valley . Right in front of me now , about 200 meters . So a herd of bison maybe 15 or so , is slowly trudging away from us through the damp grassy soil , truly truly one of the most amazing animals to see in person in their natural habitat . And to think that they once existed in crazy
Buffalo Restoration Success Story
Speaker 1amounts of numbers throughout the Great Plains and beyond is just wild . And this right in front of me here specifically is one of the reasons this park is special .
Speaker 1Once , ranging from Mexico to southern New England , the buffalo once roamed the Great Plains in numbers as high as 60 million . The large sustainable herds provided food , clothes , shelter and tools for tribes across the plains . Then American expansion west and over hunting drive the buffalo to the brink of extinction by the turn of the 20th century brink of extinction . By the turn of the 20th century the thundering herds of millions of buffalo are reduced to an estimated 300 . If not for the foresight of certain people , including Roosevelt , this trend might have continued . The Lacey Act of 1894 grants the Buffalo of Yellowstone legal protection . Concerned private citizens begin to capture and shelter bison , and Teddy both co-founds the American Bison Society of 1905 , which promotes bison reintroduction and conservation projects , and he later supports the establishment of reserves to protect bison populations . All of this and more leads to the 500,000 plus buffalo population today in North America .
Speaker 1The buffalo herd just disappeared over the valley a couple minutes ago . It's so cool . So the buffalo in this park arrived in the 50s when something like 28 , 29 bison were brought from a wildlife refuge and placed within the borders of Theodore Roosevelt National Park , and by 1962 , the herd increased to like 145 , something crazy like that . Today there are over 600 in the north and south units of the park . I don't know , it's really just one of the most heartening stories of success that you'll find . But here's something that I've been thinking about .
Speaker 1Teddy first came to the Dakotas to hunt Buffalo . That's why he came . He wanted to hunt them before they the trails , breathing in this fresh air , seeing the roaming buffalo ? You can't argue with the conservation legacy he left behind . The 70,000 plus acres of Theodore Roosevelt National Park , with its sloping valleys , jagged formations , colorful gullies and roaming buffalo , lie untouched as the last relic of a man who found peace here and fought for its preservation . The rolling hills of the prairie extend beyond sight Steep gullies , sandstone formations , winding waterways , nomadic buffalo this is North Dakota . This is the kind of peace only achieved by endless skies , unspoiled land and open air . This is Theodore Roosevelt National Park .
Speaker 1With
Listener Questions Answered
Speaker 1that said , let's get to listener questions . Just listen to your national park episode . Cool , is there any actual value in becoming a national park city ? My first response is yeah . Yeah , if you missed the episode , anyone who's listening now ? Basically , you apply to an organization that's based in London to become a national park city , so it's a nonprofit organization . But in order to get that title , to get that name , you have to apply , you have to meet their kind of rigorous standards and you have to wait a while . So you have to want it and somebody comes to the city , a representative from that organization , to look at what your city does to warrant it being called that . So that in itself , I think , definitely makes it worth it Because it's a point of pride . I think if you call something special , you're going to treat it as special and for the people of Chattanooga , people driving through Chattanooga , visiting knowing it , referring to it as a national park city , can only benefit and as well as like marketing for a city . So yeah , I mean long , answer short . I really do think it's a it's a good thing . What's the what's the bad of it ? Would be my response as well .
Speaker 1Do you think you downplayed the importance of Gettysburg in your last episode ? You know what's interesting about history and battles and events is everything has importance . You can emphasize anything and it will be important . And Gettysburg for sure was important because it stopped Lee from invading the North , but because we were focusing on Chattanooga Lee from invading the North , but because we were focusing on Chattanooga , I wanted to emphasize how important that event was towards bringing about the end of the war . So Gettysburg for sure definitely was important . But also you have to look at other battles that are kind of overlooked , other events that are overlooked , and kind of communicate why they're important . Looked other events that are overlooked and kind of communicate why they're important .
Speaker 1Last question here Is there any part of the country you've been to that you feel should become a national park or national monument ? Awesome question . My first thought is the Boundary Waters in Minnesota , northern Minnesota . I think it's a remarkably interesting , unique landscape that is undervisited and undervalued , a lot like Theodore Roosevelt National Park . That's just my first general response to that question , but I love , love , love that question . I'll have to think about that a little more . It's Noah here .
Speaker 1Thank you for traveling with Noodles and I . Every second you spend with us means the world . Final thoughts Theodore Roosevelt National Park is one of those sites that people tend to overlook . I definitely did . It was between one of the destinations that I wanted to go to and where I was and I thought , oh , let's go check it out , let's learn about it . And it also is one of those destinations that surprises you when you end up going there . And for anyone who's taking a road trip or considering going there , or if this episode changed your mind about maybe wanting to go there , my official recommendation is please , please , please do . And , with that said , if you find value in the show , taking a minute to rate and review the show wherever you're listening now helps . Noodles and I continue to put the work we'd like to into each and every episode . Thank you for traveling with us . Be good to each other . Where to next .
