2019 North Unit, Williston,North Dakota,

North Unit, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota - 7 August 2019

The other half of the Theodore Roosevelt NP is 68 miles north of the South Unit. We were fortunate to get one of two spots where we could drop of trailer and only take the truck on the 28 mile driving tour. 

Rugged and geologically diverse, there is a lot to learn about how this area was created from ancient river deposits, Little Missouri floodplain and continental glaciers.

Tori has met her match and sits quietly just watching the buffalo outside the windows. Additional wildlife here is a historic demonstration herd of Longhorn Steers as a reminder of the Badlands cattle industry. Roosevelt was a part of that industry during his years here. In 1884 he built an eight-room house which stood 30 by 60 feet with 7-foot high walls. By 1887 drought and blizzards had destroyed his herds. He gave up ranching and returned to New York to continue his political career. 

A short walk from the parking lot is a view of the Little Missouri floodplain.

No sightings of the Big Horn Sheep who haven't come down from the surrounding hills yet but the buffalo were spead out along the grass covered lower hills. 

Interesting formations made during the flooding of the Little Missouri River. 

Here was a surprizing sight. More than a dozen wild turkeys right off the side ot the road. 

Williston, North Dakota - 7 August 2019
This is a well known area for oil well drilling and fracking. We noticed right away the dramatic changes from the large farms and ranches to this industrial economy. When we turned off the highway onto a dirt road to get to the RV park in less than one mile there were 19 oil well/fracking grasshoppers and over 50 storage tanks along the road. One night while taking the dogs out before bed Bob spotted over 20 drilling burn off flames along the northern horizon. Almost the entire RV park was employees servicing the oil industry.  

Fort Union Trading Post, Montana and North Dakota - 8 August 2019 

The Grandest Fort on the Upper Missouri River. Eight principal Native American tribes utilized this fort to trade furs for other goods. Nine buffalo robes equaled one gun. At the peak of the buffalo robe trade in 1851, the American Fur Company received over 100,000 robes. Trade goods included blankets, cloth, pots, cups, knives, beads and other items useful to the tribes. During trade sessions, interactions between the white traders and tribes were very ceremonial with exchanges of gifts, smoking pipes, and speeches to flatter each side in preparation for negotiations.  

Plains tribes traveled throughout the area of the confluence of the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers in search of buffalo, elk and other animals that provided them with subsistence. Economic exchanges soon became social including marriages, adoptions and participation in tribal ceremonies. 

This was also a military fort on the frontier of the west. Soldiers walked the palisade walls which stood 18 feet tall. The Bastions were designed for defense with portholes for cannon (lower green door) and small arms (fur covered plugs to keep out the cold) but were seldom, if ever, used.

Indian trade house near the main and interior gates contained reception and trade rooms. The larger reception room was for traders and Indians to conduct business while the smaller room held trade goods. 

Outside the walls (right side on picture) is a buffalo robe press. Up to 10 robes were pressed into compact bundles, each weighing about 100 pounds. The Missouri River flowed past the fort directly below the cliffs within 50 feet of the press. Lewis and Clark made a stop at this fort in 1806 on their return trip. The fort fell into disuse after the Civil War when white Americans began to move west forcing the traders out of business and demanding the tribes be restricted to reservations. 

Nearby is Fort Buford State Historic Site near the confluence of the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers. Sioux chief Sitting Bull surrendered  there in 1881.