It's a wonderful area, SA! The National Park, to be brutally honest is only good for a day or two, plus perhaps side trips to the Elkhart Ranch and North Units. It's a good thing, then, that there's all that there is to see and do around Medora. We were there for a week and we could've stayed longer.
Great 👍 video Marc, very interesting and informative, the chateau was really interesting, those cattle drives must have been very hard back in those days, all the old time pictures 📷 and displays were great to see, the wild horses were awesome to see, the views were great as usual, I don't know how you find those great camping places, but wow what a view, you sure do alot of research for the information in your videos, thanks for sharing them with us. Can't wait for the next one the black hills, 👍👍👌
Thanks for taking us there. I used to drive past it on a regular basis. But never could stop. Driving a 18 wheeler. Now retired and plan on going back next summer. The plan is to go to Michigan's UP and travel west on US 2 to Spokane. Then return via US 12 to Elkhart Indiana.
Good to see you back in your element of dispersed camping. When I was a youngster moving by car from Ctrl. Florida to Denver when we got into W. Kansas around midday and could see the eastern slope of the Rockies we thought we’d be in Denver before the sun set. We rolled in about ten. I imagined then I would spend my life traveling. Adulthood and my reality caught up to me as it does for most people. Your channel provides me a glimpse of the life I missed but still have time for.
That's so heartwarming, Timothy -- thank you! What you've described is so true. When you catch that first glimpse of the Rockies coming across the Plains you feel like you're nearly there, but your brain just can't process how incredibly far away those mountains still are.
Wow, it just renders you speechless. Its almost unfair that these places will never be seen by most people. Quite ironic that dakotas have names like badlands and are described as desolate.... its almost a gift then... for driving through a flat state and then bam! Its hard to convey vastness of space with a camera so i can only imagine that it was larger than eyes can see in all directions. I have that park saved in my country must see trip for a reason.
It definitely belongs on that list. The amount of space is almost overwhelming. We are used to it as Utah residents, but after spending an entire summer in the Midwest, Southeast and northern Great Lakes it was somewhat unfamiliar again when we finally returned to the open spaces.
Had to pull this one up on the big screen tonight! Thanks as always for researching and finding new places for us to go!! This Natl Park is on our bucket list, so it was awesome to see. Marital harmony is #1 while RVing😂 Great videography per usual and Ben says hello!
TRNP is one of my top two favorite National Parks, the other being Glacier. In my view, that’s high praise indeed. Thank you for uncovering some gems I missed the last time we were there. I’ll be back in the spring. Once again a great video!
@@GrandAdventure You did indeed. We missed the outdoor drama, because our two boys wouldn’t have tolerated sitting still for that long and we didn’t tour the Mansion. We spent most of our time in the campground and driving the Loop Road looking for wildlife, which abounded.
@@BillSprague you will love the Chateau De Mores. We too missed the Medora Musical, by only one day. Their last show of the season was the day we arrived.
Interesting, thanks for putting this together. The original wild horses of TRNP, thought to be descendants of Sitting Bull's horses, were removed by the Park Service 20+ years ago. Some were rescued by Leo Kuntz and taken to his ranch in Linton. He called them Nokotas. The Marquis de Mores had a role in the story of those horses.
Wow, spectacular scenery once again. I love the contrast of dry grassy hills and green valleys, such beautiful colours. The museum was really cool to see as well. The collection of belt buckles was impressive, amazing art work on them. I was so excited to see the heard of wild horses!!! You really got lucky to see them in person! Not so much the dead snake shhhhhh...
It’s a real shame that you missed being able to go to the Medora Musical performance, it is really spectacular. Something to put on your to-do list when you return in the future. As usual, your video brought fond memories flooding back. The music choice was spot on. 🤠
Such a good video. I’m from ND and vacation there with my horses 2-3 times a year. I have to say you have a better grasp of what the town is about, it’s awesome for some history and also the trails around the town and park. Not a lot of people get that they just think it’s boring because there isn’t a lot of night life. You have to like history and be able to entertain yourself and most people can’t.
Thank you so much Riah! I'm glad you pick up on what we try to accomplish. Life is not all about excitement and night life, some of the most rewarding things require tapping into our past and understanding what people went through prior to our arrival on this big blue marble. We love exploring the history of every area that we visit.
We were there the week after you filmed this. Camped in Sully Creek SRA. Super quiet campground. Also enjoyed the drive around the south loup. Your drone videos really added a great view of the area. On wish list to return someday. Thanks for all the great videos you post every week.
Thank you Gary! We took a drive through Sully Creek while we were there, it looked like a really nice campground with some great facilities for equestrians.
Back in the old west General Custer and the 7th were assigned to North Dakota. They were sent to the Little Big Horn in southern Montana, to subdue the Sioux tribe. On arrival, General Custer sent out his scouts and upon their return asked for a report. " Well", said the head scout, " some good news and some bad news!" "Explain", ordered the General, " What's the bad news?" " Well it looks like every indian in the world is right over that hill in war paint!", "What's the good news?" "I don;t think we are going back to North Dakota"
We're sure that you'll love it up there Jessica! And thank you for your kind words. I would imagine that in June you will be seeing lots of green in place of the brown that we saw in the end of September. Enjoy!
Thanks for another great video. We were out there a few years ago in our pop up. It’s on our list of places we want to get back to. Could you get to where you are with a 2 wheel drive truck?
You could definitely get up there with two-wheel drive, Mark. Even a motorhome could get up there, they would just have to take it slow on the upper part of the road. There's also one tight turn that most vehicles could negotiate, just not the biggest ones. Those giant ones would be confined to the lower part of the road. Appreciate your kind words!
That's some very rough ground, Marc. The last time I drove that way, back in 1999... all of the Dakota's had a very forlorn atmosphere. Your choice of more somber background music, fit the language of the land very well. I think the reason Teddy liked the area so much is because it was more or less untouched. People generally don't realize how much of North America had been deforested by the timber industry. They basically removed most of the trees everywhere and stripped the land of all old growth forests. Pictures from the late 1800's shows rolling hills everywhere, but with no trees anywhere. The east, in particular, was completely deforested. It was far more desolate to look at than these North Dakota scrub lands. So Teddy would have liked that. It wasn't until the timber industry and the U.S. Government started an aggressive program of reforestation, that trees started coming back again. People of today would not have recognized much of their country back then. They would have been astonished. This is one of the main reasons why National Forests and National Parks came into being. It was to protect the the land from these greedy timber locusts. Gord
Great points all, Gord. I've seen lots of photos of deforestation from that era. We had the same thing in our mountains here in Utah. The miners basically cut down everything for timber to shore up mines, and to burn. In Alta that was their undoing, for stripping the mountainsides of trees caused the entire town to be wiped out in a massive avalanche, as there were no trees left to anchor the snow pack.
nice video looks like it took you a very long time to film this and film all these exact things especially in this house these cowboy saddles and so on 😎 the views from the drone are also beautiful, thank you very much for the beautiful video 🥰👍
Michael, our very early episode 6 addresses your question directly by sharing our techniques and strategies for locating boondocking sites: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-TTRw3A-IIZY.html Forgive the lack of production values in that early episode, it'll make up for it with the information shared.
How are you doing ihope you are fine as always iam gathering some main information about places you visited here it’s Theodore Roosevelt National park it’s three geologically separate areas of badlands in North Dakota north west three sections north unit elk horn south unit ranch unit location Billings Mackenzie counties nearest city Medora. Established 1978 park larger south unit along side interest 94 smaller north unit south unit on USA route 85 south of watford city. Fairfield little Missouri River flow through units of park maah. Daah. Hey trail president Roosevelt first name to badlands to hunt bison in year 1883 short trip he fell in love with rugged life style perfect freedom of west he invested 14000 dollars Maltese cross ranch winter ferries merrfield built Maltese cross cabin after death of wife and mother of Roosevelt time to heal in 1884 second ranch elk horn ranch Roosevelt had great interest in hunting ranches west experience in places news paper magazines talked about he wrote 3 major work on his life i west ranch life hunting trail of ranch man Wilderness hunter his adventures in strenuous life outdoor loss of his cattle starvation winter 1886 1887 influential policies as president 1901 1909 after death of Roosevelt 1919 Missouri band land explored park site civilian conservation 1941 area designated Roosevelt recreation demonstration area 1935 1946 transferred Theodore Roosevelt national wildlife refuge
Last part of my research Theodore Roosevelt national wildlife refuge after five years campaign in North Dakota willam lemke. President Truman established south unit Theodore Roosevelt national memorial park 1947 only national memorial park established north unit added by act congress 1948 1978 Theodore Roosevelt wilderness park designated was changed to Theodore Roosevelt national park attractions scenic drives horse trails wildlife viewing hiking camping 3 developed campground junpier in north unit cottonwood in south unit popular attractions wildlife viewing bison it’s dangerous for visitors advised to view them from distance it’s beautiful winter at park Roosevelt called abode of desolation there museum in south unit visitors center back ground Roosevelt his ranching day Maltese cross cabin open public viewing year round at south unit visitors center elk horn ranch remote area shops buildings including oil development noise pollution traffic back country hiking horse back riding northern light town Medore have several museums burning amphitheater medoral musical potential nature vegetation two classification wheat grass mixed grass pirairria flood plain variety of great plain as bison coyotes cougars big horn white tail deer 186species of brids as golden eagle wild turkeys bison elk big horn sheep have successfully reintroduce to park iam so sorry it’s very long reading stay safe blessed best wishes
I have viewed this episode several times. Being that I live in North Dakota and visit the area 5 to 6 times a year, I get to view and photograph the area during all seasons. You have created what I feel is one of the best videos on the area along with the best narration describing Medora and the National Park. The fact that you also video the inside of the Cowboy Hall of Fame and the home of the De Mores family with soft background music it becomes an easy to absorb what the viewer is seeing, GREAT JOB!
The De Mores home tour and the museum tour were very nice. Just a suggestion but if you see an interesting display with a story pause a few seconds and us viewers can pause the video and read what it says. Thanks for letting your video tell the story and BTW nice camp spot.
Back to Boondocking!! Yeaaa!!!! You stayed at some pretty nice private and state campgrounds the last few months, however finding a great boondocking spot is like finding buried treasure!! That one looked awesome!! Lots of room with a view! Did it get windy up on that hill? The town looked pretty neat. Nice to see that you finally got into some museums. The Chateau de Mores looked very well kept up. Some years ago I was on Long Island and got the chance to visit Teddy Roosevelt’s home and standing in his den/living room one could see his love for the outdoors and the West. He was quite the advocate for the National Parks. Thanks for another enjoyable video! 👍🏼👍🏽 Ram
Thanks as always Ram! No wind to speak of, nothing of any substance only. Roosevelt was responsible for the advocacy of the early conservation movement in our country.
Thank you for sharing your trip to Theodore National Park. I have had it on my wish list for a few years to go see the area. Now I know I need to make that trip. I really enjoyed the video. Thank you Marc.
Awesome video of Theodore Roosevelt national Park South unit next time you're around definitely you need to head to the north unit. Looking forward to your next video.
Thank you Gorlyn! With having to work Monday to Friday from the trailer, we simply ran out of time to get to the North Unit and to Elkhorn Ranch. but that leaves something on the table for a return visit!
Keep up the good work Marc. We stopped at the rest area on the North side last year. Bison right there in the rest area. I look forward to your videos each week as your skills are improving in each episode. I like your narration with the videos and you don't play music so loud that your voice is overcome by the music. So many folks do that.
The wife and I were up there in august, we had an absolutely amazing time, both in the park and in the town of Medora. That sucks you guys missed the musical it was very entertaining. Perfect reason to go back for another trip though.
We stayed outside Medora a couple years ago on our way home to Wisconsin, we were surprised how great the area is and we wish we would have spent more time there. Awesome video as always Marc, thank you!
This coming June I'll be doing a road trip through north and South Dakota and I plan to spend a couple days in the Medora/national park area. I hope to see some wild horses! According to Google maps, the loop road closure is still active. Bummer. Thanks for the beautiful video!
Thank you Brenda, and have a safe trip! Not to fret, it's only the last 6 miles of the loop road that remains closed. You can still do the first 22 miles as an out and back route.
My chocolate lab Riley lived 14 years 10 months. I miss her everyday. I have 2 more labs today a black female and a white male. We can’t wait to retire and go rving with them like you’re doing. We appreciate any tips and all your tips for rving with 2 big dogs. Thanks!
Here's to many wonderful memories yet to be created with your two labs, Aaron! Today is our Zoe's 7th birthday, actually. Here's an episode we did way back in 2019 on camping with dogs: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-OtGAkXXryk8.html
When you say the road gets worse the further down you go, what exactly do you mean? How bad? Pot holes? Will it shake our 31 foot bumper pull a lot! I wish you would film the condition of all the roads going into the dispersed camping areas. We actually almost got stuck in Ketchum down a road you featured and there was no place to turn around! Thanks for the great videos!
Thanks Janet. Not enough people would appreciate the film of the drive in to make it worth doing. It's not that bad, you'd be fine with a 31-foot. It just becomes more of a double track with a couple of tightish turns, but nothing that you couldn't negotiate.
Marc, I think Salem Sue stole the show! Seriously though, I knew very little about that area before your video. I now feel like I have a greater understanding of Medora as well as TRNP. Your background music selection is excellent as always. It puts your mind in mood to appreciate the segment being highlighted. Safe travels as always!
Thank you so very much as always, Tim! It's nice to hear that we achieved our objective. Making music selections is sometimes very rewarding, but often very frustrating when you can't find just the right piece at just the right length. For this video we felt that we got lucky.
Great video! I love TRNP!! I was actually there the same time you guys were there! I never get tired of exploring this area and I was there 5 times this year! I could watch the wild horses and buffalo for days! So fun to see the drone footage!! Great new perspective! Also the rattle snake was awesome! I always look for them but never laid eyes on one yet. Thanks for sharing your wonderful time in Medora💖
Thank you Kristal Ann! It was a wonderful time to be there, delightfully quiet and beautiful with the leaves changing. Thanks for sharing your perspective.
Another great episode and happy to see you boondocking again. can you tell me more about the camping chairs I saw in this video? My wife wants a comfy chair and those look like they will make her happy. Thanks
Thank you W! We get asked about those chairs all the time, we got them from Camping World several years ago where they are still available for around $50 each. They call them "club chairs". We've never found any other camp chairs even close to being that comfortable.
Such a beautiful video, the drone shoots are super cool! As someone who also creates youtube videos travelling on a much smaller scale it is so good to get some quality inspiration. Subbed!
@@GrandAdventure Plenty of camp fire wood. Finally got power back on; lost the roof on a few out buildings. We just hooked the camper up and headed to a full hookup state park until power was restored. About a weeks worth of work and everything should be back up and running.
@@captainmc0685 Good to hear. Stuff can be replaced, people are irreplaceable. Sounds like you had a good plan to get out of Dodge for a few days. For eight years we lived right on the Gulf Coast of Florida, so we know all too well what it's like to hunker down or pack up and leave during hurricane season.
Thanks for that! We decided to go to Green River Lakes because of your video and we made it there last month. We've been thinking of going to TRNP and Medora and this video cinches it! Thanks again!
@@GrandAdventure it was one of the most peaceful spots we’ve ever been. Went in late September and there were very few people there. Incredible place. We looked for where you camped and figured it out 🤣
