As we made our way through the midwest on our way to Denver from Georgia, I decided it would be a good idea to take a “quick” detour north to North Dakota. We were as close as we would be in the foreseeable future, so why not? I had some extra time to burn before we needed to be in Denver AND there was Theodore Roosevelt National Park there that we needed to get to at some point. We are actually trying to get to ALL of the national parks if we can.

We stopped for a few days at one of our favorite boondcoking locations on the way just outside Badlands National Park in South Dakota. It was a nice time of rest before the remainder of the trek up there. When we arrived in North Dakota, we scored a super sweet spot about 15 minutes from Theodore Roosevelt National Park entrance that’s located in the cute little town of Medora. They have the cutest little city park there that the kids LOVED!! It was fantastic!

The boys made a little video while we were there. They call it “Mario Buoy Brothers”. I think it turned out pretty well 🙂

We quickly fell in love with this area. This area is mixed grasslands and prairies. It’s a very unique and diverse area. We have a new appreciation for grasslands.

Our camp spot had a hill right beside it that provided for great views and fun for the kids. Mike liked to run up and down it. It was quite steep and a fantastic workout!

We spent a day exploring the south unit of the park. We like to get up and out early to maximize our time. We like to do a hike if we can so we can get a true experience of the park. We actually had to cross the Little Missouri River twice and a creek. It was a really nice hike and not difficult, except for the heat. It got a little warm in the sun, and there’s no shade to speak of. We only ran into one other family. There was no one else on our 4 hour trek. I love it that our boys are willing to do all of this adventuring!

On our little creek crossing, Mike thought it would be a good idea to toss Brooks over since he didn’t want to get muddy. All great stories start with “this one time Mike….”. Well, here’s another one. Brooks ended up muddier than all of us! Poor kiddo. He’s a trooper and just kept going. He was really mad though…..REALLY mad. LOL!

We had an AMAZING time up in Theodore Roosevelt National Park!! I never knew there was such an amazing place in North Dakota! It’s worth the trip for certain.