National Park After Dark - Histories and Hauntings: Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Episode Date: September 12, 2022

This week we're taking you on a haunted historic tour of Theodore Roosevelt National Park and its gateway town, Medora. We visit several buildings that will make you feel like you are still in the 1800s. Learn about Theodore Roosevelt, historic families, sword duels, near mass extinctions of species, and all the (paranormal) activities that take place inside the badlands of North Dakota.For the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials:Instagram: @‌nationalparkafterdarkTikTok: @‌nationalparkafterdarkSupport the show by becoming an Outsider and receive ad free listening, bonus content and more on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. Want to see our faces? Catch full episodes on our YouTube Page!Thank you to this week’s partners!Speedify: Use our link to download Speedify today.Prose: Use our link for a free in-depth hair consultation and 15% off your first order.Beam: Use code NPAD to get 40% off your first subscription order or 20% a one-time purchase.For a full list of our sources, visit http://npadpodcast.com/episodes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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That perfect hang on the patio sundress. Those sandals you can wear all day and all night. And you've had enough of shopping from your couch. Done hoping it looks anything like the picture when you tear up on that envelope. It's time for a little in-person spring treat. It's time for a trip to Ross. Work your magic. National parks hold a ton of history.

They have been sitting idly by for generations bearing witness to events throughout time. They were here long before they were given the respected and important title of National Park. They were here before us, and they will certainly be here after we are gone. Each nook and cranny, crevice, stream, and tree has thousands of years of stories that they hold. Theodore Roosevelt National Park holds the stories of indigenous people. It holds sacred lands within its beutes and wild prairies. The generations of wild horses and bison that roam here have carried the stories of the people who made these lands their home.

Outlaws and farming have made their mark here. The badlands of North Dakota certainly have a lot of tales to tell. Tales of the Old West. Tales of the mountains Cowboys Rome. tales of indigenous people thriving, tales of love, loss, sorrow, and inspiration. Yes, lots of people have traveled through these parts, and some believe that the spirits of many of these people never left. Welcome to National Park After Dark. Okay, wait, so are we going to the Badlands or Theodore Roosevelt?

We're going to Theodore Roosevelt National Park, but we're going to, Theodore Roosevelt National Park is made up of Badlands. Oh, okay, okay. I got confused for a second. Cool. Yeah, I'm super excited. This is going to be an episode that is, it's definitely more of a historic episode. It's a history overload mixed in with a bit of paranormal activity as well.

Love it. Two of my favorite things. Yeah, when I was researching it, I'm like, there is so much history here. There's so much going on in theater. Roosevelt National Park and you think North Dakota and people are like, oh, there's nothing in North Dakota. And that's very far from the truth. There are a lot going on in those big wilds prairies and mountains. And it's a cool spot. Well, and you have some personal experience there because when we went last year, you went to Theodore Roosevelt. Is it Roosevelt or Roosevelt?

I think you can say it both ways. Okay. Roosevelt. Sometimes I say Roosevelt. Someone's yelling at the at the podcast right now being like, it's Roosevelt. Yeah. I say Roosevelt. Roosevelt, it's kind of like I feel like I should be saying it, but it doesn't come naturally to me. But either way, you've been there. When I went to meet you in the Badlands, you were there for a few days beforehand.

So I'm ready for your personal experience because I'm sure you're going to throw some of that in there. I got to throw some of my personal experience in because I went there solo. I was like, when we were going to South Dakota, I was like, well, I'm so close to North Dakota. I had never been to the state. So that was a huge draw for me. I'm like, well, I have to check this other state off. I'm going to drive up there real quick. It's three hours away. And so I did. And it was a cool experience. It was different than any national park I've ever been to. So it was cool. Cool. Well, before you start, I guess we should just kind of get people up to speed a little bit.

Some people, I would say, probably the majority, are not going to know nor care. But we just want to keep everyone in the loop. So there's a lot of shifts and changes. going on with our personal lives and we are going to be super busy for different reasons in September. So we are actually recording like literally all of the episodes that come out in September. We've kind of front-loaded and we're recording in the middle to end of August. So just in case anything has like, shit hits the fan or something happens in the world and we don't address it in the month of September, it's because we're living in the future. India. Or no, we're living in the past. We're living in the past. We're living in the past.

So, yeah, all of September, Cassie's going to be bebopping around different places in the world. I'm going to be going through kind of a tough move, transition away from Washington. So, yeah, we're just going to be busy. But we wanted to make sure everyone still got, you know, content. We keep the podcast rolling. So as far as releasing episodes, we're living in the past. Yeah. No change to episode releases. It'll all be the same. but we'll be off doing other things while they're coming out. Yeah. I don't even know when this is coming out. It's like we've recorded so, so many over the last few weeks or two that it's just

kind of all like one big mass now. But I'm excited to hear about Theodore Roosevelt Roosevelt now and everyone else will learn in like a month. Yeah, this will come out eventually. Well, we are going to Theodore Roosevelt Roosevelt National Park. And it is in North Dakota. It is an interesting park because if you notice in the name, it is, the only national park that exists that is named after a single person. In the United States, right?

In the U.S., yeah. Cool. And if you don't know about Theodore Roosevelt, he was the 26th president of the United States, and he has been significantly known in history for his work in conservation and actually establishing national parks. So when you look at a lot of different national parks across the country, he had a hand in a lot of it. A big influence, yeah. The conservation president, right? That's his nickname. Yeah, that's his nickname. And he had actually gone to the bad lands of North Dakota for a bison hunt and he fell in love with the area. Eventually, this area became a protected national park in honor of him and just this amazing landscape that it preserves. And we're going to go more into Teddy Roosevelt in this story.

But first, I just want to introduce this park because it's very interesting. So this national park was designated as a national park on November 10th, 1978. it had been previously designated as a National Memorial Park in 1947. Now, there had been several attempts to make it a national park before it was actually designated as one, but legislation and people voting on it thought that the park didn't have merit. They didn't think it was essentially cool enough or preserved. They didn't think that they were preserving anything important, so it didn't make sense to make it a national park.

Eventually, that changed, and they believed that they found the diverse, culture that's here and the natural resources that are in this area were important and they did make it a national park. They changed their minds. Yeah, they're like, hold on a sec. There's a lot here, actually, and it should be a national park. So I mentioned the badlands earlier. Badlands, I know, like, how you said we think of the Badlands National Park, but Badlands are actually like a type of geographic area. And badlands are located actually on every single continent except for Antarctica. And it's generally characterized by terrain where erosion has created these deep. drainage channels. So they typically consist of sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils, which have been

eroded into steep slopes, canyons, and ridges. And these places also typically lack substantial vegetation. So it's kind of more of a desert landscape. Right. Yeah, of course. Now, this park is comprised of three units and covers 70,446 acres, which is 28,508 hectares, which these units are the north unit, the south unit, and the Elkhorn Branch Unit. This park is also home to a variety of Great Plains Wildlife. They have bison, wild Mustang horses, coyotes, cougars, prairie dogs, pronghorns, elk, and over 186 species of birds. It's a lot going on before when they're like, meh, not worth it. It's like, yeah, they're like, there's nothing here. It's like, hello. Hello, look at all this stuff. I, so part of probably the main reason why I went to the,

National Park was I really wanted to see wild horses. So that was the main reason why I went here and I did. I saw a herd of wild horses and it was really cool. But I was really excited to see the prairie dogs because there were so many of them and then they make the little barking noise at you and it's so cute. Yes. I just, they are cute but they're also, oh my God, like living in Colorado. Like they are fucking everywhere. Like so all over the place where I used to live in Colorado. I don't know if they'll be there when I come back, like the new place I'm going to be. But God, they were everywhere. And they would just like dart all around, like the edges of the road. And I hit one once and it was the worst experience. Yeah. Because it, I mean, I could barely, it was small. It was so tiny.

But it just like darted out in the middle of the road. And I was just like, oh, I'm so sorry. RIP. But the wild horses, you said, didn't you see them in, uh, did you go to Assateague? Yeah. Yeah. I've been to Assetigue. And I saw them there too, which was really. really, really cool. Yeah, but I do remember you like, because you went what, like two or three, two or three days before me to the Dakotas and you're like, I'm going off for the day. I have my camera and I'm just going to like go try and get some shots of the horses. And yeah, so cool. So cool. And then they have a ton of bison there. Like I was sitting in traffic. It's not as much as, or I didn't experience as much like in Yellowstone when you're in traffic jams. But I remember I was

driving. I was in the North unit and I was driving down the road and I stopped because there was a bison in the middle of the road and it was walking at my car and it was in the middle like there was nowhere I could go and it was just making a B-line straight to my car and I was alone so I'm like is this thing about to ram my car right now. The rental, the rental car. The rental and there was a car behind me so I couldn't even back up and I was of course first in line looking at this bison and I swear like 10 feet before my car. He just like stared me dead in the eyes and was like, I'm not going to hit you today and just like walked off. But it was a cool experience because it was looking right at me, but I was a little nervous for a second. This episode is brought to you by Prime.

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And they existed for centuries with indigenous groups. Because indigenous groups, they hunted and used bison for many reason. Bison for indigenous people in this area, they provided food, clothing, shelter, and they used their bones and, like, whatever else to make tools. Yeah, they were like a lifeline. Mm-hmm. And they really used everything. There was no waste when they used these, and there was never any issue.

I mean, bison thrived here. And that all changed. When white settlers and traders came into the area in the 1800s, they almost, completely decimated the entire population of bison. And while they did use their hides occasionally, they came in and their main purpose for killing them was only for their tongues. Oh, their tongues? Yeah, it was considered like a delicacy. So they would kill bison, they would leave their entire carcass and just take their tongues. Okay. And bison's had thrived in herds of millions of them for centuries, but by the late 1800s, there was less than 300 wild bison.

And are you talking all of the United States or in this area? All of the United States. Okay, that's what I just wanted to be clear because I was like, I'm pretty sure it's all of the U.S. because I think we've like touched upon this in a couple different episodes, but we've never really like dove into it because it is such a tragic, terrible, like, chapter in U.S. history. Yeah. And if you go into it more, it's like, it's really gruesome.

It's gruesome. It's dark. and a lot of the, I mean, besides the tongue thing, I mean, that's horrible in and of itself, but I do know, you know, the limited knowledge I have on the subject is a lot of the incentive behind killing off bison in different parts of the country was to sever the ties, like the indigenous peoples like you were talking about, it's their lifeline, it was so important to their culture and so central to their lives. If you're cutting off the supply of bison, you're controlling the indigenous groups and that was a main driving factor for a lot of.

lot of the slaughter, which is just unspeakable. Like, it's unthinkable. Which I'm sure played a major role in this area as well, too. And it's just, like you said, you cut off someone's food. You're cutting off their lifeline. And part of the reason why I am talking about the bison is because they do and did play a huge role in Theodore Roosevelt National Park because in 1956, they began reintroducing bison to the area. So in 1956, they introduced 20, Bison and to this day the park is still working to regrow the population and they introduced six female bison from Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge to help conserve the genetic population.

I love that place. Do you? You've been there? Yeah. It's near Denver. It's right near Denver. Oh, cool. It's a really cool spot like just a little slice of like preserved wild west, you know,

just like right near Denver. It's really cool. Oh, that's so cool. Yeah. In 2022, they sent up six of their bison up to North Dakota because they wanted to keep the gene pool not within all the same line, obviously, because then you see all these genetic mutations and then the herds aren't healthy, all that stuff. So they are in, they're in cahoots with the Roosevelt National Park to help the wildlife population, which is really cool. That's awesome.

And another interesting thing about this park, because you don't see it. And I don't know if you see it in any other national parks, not that I can think of, but the entire park is surrounded with a seven foot tall woven wire fence that keeps all the bison and wild mustangs inside the park. What? Yeah. Isn't that crazy? I just like I haven't heard that before. Did you see it when you were there? Yeah.

I mean, I noticed it, but I didn't like think that much about it. You know, I don't know. Like it was just like a passing glance. I saw it when I first like entered the park. But it's big, so you're like off on the road and you don't see it. Right. Especially from far away. It's wire.

Very interesting. Yeah. And it allows other wildlife in. Like there can be different, like smaller wildlife can get in. Coyotes can get through it, whatever. But the reason that they did this was because there's a lot of farming populations around and they don't want the wild mustings to have the opportunity to breed with domestic horses or bison to breed with any like bison farm. or anything like that. They're trying to keep it as a wild population. And it's also to protect it, to protect these animals from any like hunters and things like that to protect the populations.

Interesting. There are around 850,000 people who visit this park. And there's lots of stuff to do there. There's hiking trails. There's horseback riding trails. You can see wildlife, like we said. And they have backcountry camping. And they also have three established campgrounds within the national park. So there's plenty of places to stay. There's campgrounds right outside the entrance of the park. There's a lot of outdoor activities here. You do have to be careful on the trails, though, because I was solo hiking. I was solo hiking and I'm going through and there's just bison poop everywhere.

And I just am looking and over every corner and you're kind of like walking the trail specifically that I did. There were a lot of like little hills and ridges. so you couldn't see past each one, and I just saw a fresh bison poop everywhere. I was like, I'm going to get mulled by a bison out here for sure. Okay, remember when I said I knew what you were going to say? I didn't think you were going to say that. What did you think I was going to say? When you saw the rattlesnake in the middle of the path?

Oh, my God, I did see a rattlesnake. I thought you were going to. You just took a sharp left. There's also rattlesnakes in the park. You're like, you better watch out when you're there because, And I was like, oh, she's definitely going to talk about almost stepping on the rattlesnake. You're like, there's bison shit everywhere. It's like, okay.

Well, that took a total different direction. It's so true, though. I did almost step on a rattlesnake. It blends right in with the terrain there. And I was walking. And I remember I found this really pretty view. And I was setting up my camera stand to take some pictures. And I almost put my camera stand.

Like, I put my camera stand down. And then I went to like look into the camera. And I looked down. and I almost stepped. I had set it up right next to a rattlesnake. Yeah, that's what I thought you were going to say, not the bison poop situation. They're both equally scary, I think.

Hmm. Hmm. But I guess, yeah, the rattlesnake, you're in deep trouble. I was pretty far from anything, too. And of course, like, as I'm standing there, I see this family with a group of children that were coming up. And I just kind of kept my stuff set up where the rattlesnake was because I knew if I had said to them like, oh, there's a rattlesnake there.

You know little kids are going to like jump over and be like super excited to see it. And I was like, I just kind of kept it there. So they walked around. And then I told their parents, I like quietly after they passed. I'm like, there's a rattlesnake right here just so you know. And they're like, oh, thank you. And like kept walking. But I didn't want to like announce it to a bunch of kids. Because in my experience when I worked with children, if you pointed out a venomous snake, they were ready. They're all about it. Yeah. I remember one time I was sitting on a, we did a hike with these kids and I'm sitting on, it was a waterfall hike and you could sit on a little ledge and the ledge there's like a little bit of rocks underneath it and then it's straight to the water and I look down

and my feet are dangling above a copperhead. And it was a baby, thankfully. And I look over, I was sitting next to one of my friends who I worked with and he actually, I think he's, He was the one who made me aware of it there. And then he said it really quietly because he didn't want the other kids to hear it. And of course, someone heard it. And they're like climbing over my shoulders to look at it. One of the kids almost pushed me in the water. I'm like, get away.

They meant well. They just wanted to see some wildlife. But like this is not the one to see up close for sure. Kids are always wild and out. It's just a lesson. Don't get close to a venomous steak, please. The crispy chicken sandwich from 7-Eleven, people always call me loud. And I'm like, yeah, I know.

I'm crispy. Did you expect me to whisper? If you want quiet, go eat some soup and reflect. Like, I know I'm a handful. I'm bold, I'm juicy. Throw some pickles and barbecue sauce on me, and baby, I'm a whole meal. And with seven rewards, I'm just $4. Quiet.

No. Krispy, saucy, and $4? Very. Only at 711. Valley 36-2326, participating stores only well supplies lastly out for full terms. So at the south unit of the park is the town of Medora. And this town is really cool. It feels like you are stepping back into old western times.

The buildings are very little. They're not very updated. I mean, they are. They've been restored and things like that. They're nice. But I'll post a picture on our social media because it's like what you think of in old western buildings, like they're smaller. It's just you feel very much like you're out west in them.

They have these wooden plank sidewalks. They have old-fashioned post offices. They have buggy rides there. And another cool thing that they have in Madora is from June to September. They hold a nightly musical in their amphitheater. And this musical tells the story of the Wild Western days and stories of Teddy Roosevelt's life. And I did go to that. I think I sent you pictures while I was there.

Oh, yeah. You sent me pictures of Madora. and of the play or what musical and the kind of like like where am I type of type of thing like where the hell what is happening it's like a it's a town that like praises Theodore Roosevelt and you're like I stepped into something I was not ready for I didn't realize that I knew that around the area was obviously named in honor of Theodore Roosevelt but I was not prepared for how much everything is centered around him. And at the play, I was just like, wow, this is very, very much geared towards him. And the amphitheater is really cool. I mean,

you have the mountains right behind it. It's this big place. There was this beautiful sunset. I remember when I pulled in. And when I went to town, I was asking people, I'm like, well, what do you do here? What should I do here? And everyone was like, go see the Medora musical. It's like their famous musical, they go all out. There's fireworks. They have real horses and like real cowboys on stage. They like, I remember I went horseback riding earlier in the day and I was talking to the guy that worked there. He's like, oh yeah, later tonight, I'm doing the musical. Me and this horse are going to be up on stage. Like what? He's like, yeah, we do it. He's like, I do it twice a week or something like that. It's like everyone's very invested in the, in the musical.

Yeah, it's a collaborative thing where everyone. involved in it. And it is from September, or from June to September, it's every night. So you can definitely see it. Just how many people are that? I just, I know like we're already like almost like creeping on a half an hour in and we, I don't even know what the story is about. There's a lot of stuff going on in theater. It's just so interesting. It's like, okay, to have something go on every, a production to happen every single night. for months in a row. That's like some Broadway New York shit. That's not like the middle of nowhere North Dakota like praising like a historical figure your whole town. It's like it's very,

I don't want to say it's cold like because people in North Dakota, specifically Madora are going to like, you know, come after me. But it's just weird. It's just fucking weird. It's like, okay, maybe do it like once or twice a week. It's like cool. But every night, what do you, how many people, how many people were in the audience when you were there? I mean, there was a good amount of people. It wasn't the whole place wasn't sold out or anything, but I mean, there was probably like 200 people there. I just imagine them like putting up. The show must go on no matter what. There's like three people. There's fireworks. People are like going nuts and there's just three people just like staring like slowly like clap. Anyway, okay. Sorry. No, they go all out. They really do. I mean, at the end of the musical. they had one of the people on horseback with like a spotlight on them ride on horseback up this mountain

that is behind the theater. And it says Madora and huge lights. And then they like set off fireworks. And the horse reared and it was his silhouette and he was taking his cowboy hat off and waving it in the wind and they disappeared out into the sunset. How did you know? And that's how the play ends. Musical or whatever it is. Okay. So what is this story about? I'm so sorry. Well, we're going into, you're like, we're getting there. We're getting there. We're getting there. Actually, the next part I was going to talk about is the park and the story that we're going into. So essentially for this story, what I'm doing is it's going to be a haunted historical tour around the National Park and around Madora, because Madora is really the gateway to the national park.

It's part of the entire experience. So we're going to be learning a bunch of history and doing a lot of history. and doing a little haunted tour along the way. Medora is an experience. We've already established that for sure. Well, our first stop on this haunted National Park tour is we are going to be going to the Maltese Cross Ranch Cabin, and that sits inside the south unit of the park. Now, this cabin holds a lot of historical significance because it was Theodore Roosevelt's cabin.

And it's not named after him? I'm taken aback. Well, he named it, so I guess he didn't name it after. himself. So before Theater Roosevelt was president, he headed to the North Dakota Badlands in 1883, and he went there to hunt bison. He originally came here for two weeks, but after meeting and speaking with the ranchers in the area, he was just enamored with the lifestyle. He wanted to be a cowboy. He wanted to live the life. So he bought a ranch, and he invested $14,000 for cattle. I don't know how much that is in this time period, but I'm guessing it's, it's a approximately a shit ton of money.

Okay, good. Got it. Once he established his ranch, he had two of his ranch managers build him a cabin, and that's this cabin that we're visiting. It was one and a half stories with a shingled roof, and it had a cellar. It was created with ponderosa pine logs. It had wooden floors, and it consisted of a kitchen, a living room, and his bedroom. It also contained a steeply pitched roof, which wasn't really the style back then, especially for this area, but it was created so that he had aloft for any ranch hands to sleep there.

And he called this the Maltese Cross Cabin. He split his time between the ranch in North Dakota and New York. He was the governor of New York at one point in time, and he lived there for a big portion of his life. It was here at the cabin, though, that he really became inspired by wild landscape. and he started to notice the importance of them. He started to become interested in conservation because he saw the misuse of the lands. He was really noticing the overhunting that was going on and he noticed the bad practices of farming. So eventually, Theodore Roosevelt was referred to as the conservation president and he is also credited as being one of the

driving forces for the American Conservation Movement. He has also been acknowledged for saving $230 million. acres of American wilderness through legislation and executive orders. And he did give a speech at one point where he spoke at the Grand Canyon and he said, leave it as it is. You cannot improve on it. What you can do is keep it for your children, your children's children, and all who come after you. That's so interesting. Because I have a book over here. Leave it as it is and it has a picture of him. Oh, wow. Look at that. On the front cover. And it's by David Gessner. And it says, a journey through Theodore Roosevelt's American Wilderness. And it's all about protecting

America's wild lands. And I have not read it yet, but I have it in my possession. It's on the list. It's on the list. Cool. That's awesome. Yeah, I mean, he has so many stories in conservation that we're not going to go into for the sake of this episode. So if we ever decide to do literally a full theater Roosevelt episode, I'm sure it would be very interesting because he made a lot of strides and he protected a lot of places. And he has gone down in history as being this beloved president. And so much that they created this national park in his honor, he has a huge tie in with national parks. But there's another part of his story that is widely overlooked. And I think that it's important to paint an entire picture of who he was and to include it.

So in history, he had some really questionable values. And a lot of times it's not talked about that he was racist. I think we like briefly touched upon that in the past. Yeah, because there's so much other stuff that he did, but there's also some really kind of shitty stuff that he did. And I found this really great article from National Geographic that touches on this exact subject. So, um, they talked about how there were activists who have been fighting against Theodore Roosevelt's history, some of it, um, for a while, but people really began to examine it in 2020. And you'll probably remember this a little bit because activists turned their attention to a racist statue that stood outside of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

Oh, yeah, they pulled it down. Well, it ended up being removed. Oh, okay. I feel like we've talked about this at some point. I'm not sure when. Yeah, I feel like we probably have to. But this statue, if people don't know what it was, it was this bronze statue of Roosevelt on a horse. And he had an indigenous person on one side of him and an African-American man standing on the other side of him.

And in it, Roosevelt is towering over the two of them on a horse. And he looks strong and fierce and just like manly, I guess you could say. And then it depicted the other two men as being much smaller than him. and they look inferior. Okay, so it was, yeah, it was saying a lot. It was. The statue said a lot and people really, people had taken notice to it for a while, but it was in 2020 when people really were like, hey, this isn't, this has got to go.

And they did eventually take it down. Okay. And another thing that is often overlooked with Roosevelt is when he began his conservation efforts, he completely ignored the indigenous culture that resided in the areas. Theodore Roosevelt National Park was once home to what is known as the three affiliated tribes, and these lands in North Dakota had a significant spiritual value to these tribes. And for many of the groups that resided here, the beutes were home of animal spirits, and they would journey out to specific beutes for medical reasons, for certain rituals.

and they also served as vision quest sites and prayer sites. And so these lands had extensive history with the indigenous people. They were here for thousands and thousands of years before white settlers came in. But in a speech that Theodore Roosevelt gave in 1886, he stated, The Most Vicious Cowboy has more principle than the average Indian. And then in a book he wrote called The Winning of the West, he wrote, The truth is, the Indians never had any real title to the soil. See, here's the thing.

There's just, like, this brings up a kind of, like, a theme that I think is starting to come up more and more with different people we cover and stories we cover. It's just, like, you know, most recently, Diane Fossey. But also in the past, like, I know we haven't done a whole episode on him, but we've definitely discussed him, John Muir. Like, John Muir, Diane Fossy, Teddy Roosevelt, like, they are good examples. of people that are really, really well known for a lot of good things that they did. But at the same time, like, there's a whole different side to them that is problematic. It's just, it's really hard to celebrate someone and all of their accomplishments without having to say, but.

Like, but there is also this too. And I think over time, like you said, like a lot of it was kind of the good things that they did for whatever it is, public lands, wild places, certain species of animals, etc., whatever they're celebrated for and remembered for. For most of history, I think now we're starting to, like, like you said, the National Geographic article, people paying attention to that statue, we're kind of reexamining, like, hey, yes, they did do a lot of good things, but there was also a lot of problematic things that they either stood for or had values, you know, regarding or it's just really complex, and it's hard to just be like, this is a good person or this is a bad person.

Sometimes it's a lot more difficult. And I think that Theodore Roosevelt is a good example of that. Yeah. And I think it doesn't even come down to like, was this person a good person or was this a bad person? It comes down to, are we going to omit parts of history because we want to paint this narrative that things were sunshines and butterflies and rainbows around this person who did wonderful things for the country and made huge strides? Or are we going to tell the story how?

it is. And are we going to say, yeah, he did great things. But he also did not so great things. And he did harmful things. And if you leave out that story, you're not doing any justice to anything. You're missing out on an entire thing of history. It's not an opinion. It's a fact. This is what happened in history. And it needs to be told in a broad picture because when you leave information like that out, you're leaving a huge part of history. You're rewriting history unintentionally by not mentioning these. other things. Right. Yeah, by focusing, by kind of shifting the focus onto one aspect of the story. You know, like you can't, you know, read two chapters of a book and get the complete story, you know. Exactly. So. And it's, I mean, some of it's hard to talk about. You don't want to say that. You don't

want this to be true. But it is history. And I mean, he, these weren't even just the only things he ever said. It's also been historically noted that he was racist towards African American people. He referred to white people as the forward race and he believed in eugenics where he believed in preventing people with quote unquote undesirable traits, which he was referring to African American people. He believed that they should be prevented from reproducing. And he voiced these opinions and we hear it now and it's like that's disgusting. You can't you can't act that way. You can't do that. but to know Theodore Roosevelt as a whole or anyone as a whole that's this big in history is just so important to continue telling these stories because you can't you can't take out those parts. Yeah.

Like that's why I'm just like so kind of I wonder and this is just total like I mean, who knows, but like the play or the musical or whatever in Madora. Yeah. Like obviously they're celebrating him for the good parts of what he did without acknowledging. I'm assuming I have never been there, so I can't say. But without at least acknowledging, hey, like, yeah, he did great stuff, but also, like, he was also kind of fucked up. Like, is there any of that that you noticed when you were there? Not that I can really think of, but I will be totally honest, I wasn't fully paying attention while I was there. I was really distracted by a lot of things. I mean, there was a lot going on

on stage. They had a band up there. They had singers. They had dancers. So while it was telling a story. I don't think I really understood the whole story or I just wasn't paying attention or like I turn I don't know. I don't want to be like no, they didn't include anything because I don't remember the whole thing and I certainly didn't pay attention to the whole thing because I was just like, oh wow, look at that thing that they built in the back. Oh, there's horses on stage. Oh, that person has a really nice voice. You know, like I just wasn't really paying attention to it. But nothing that significantly sticks out to me that was like, oh, wow, they're talking about this. But what I will say is that the National Park has talked about how even in the National Park, they haven't fully addressed

some of the indigenous history there, but that is changing and they're working on it. And they did say a big part of that has just been budgeting to like build more things, to bring more resources, to hire more people. And they are, I think it's in 2024. There is going to be a new library that they're putting in where they're going to try and hire some indigenous people to go there, they're going to have lots of books and references about the park and about Theodore Roosevelt himself, but around every parts of the history that's there and not just what has historically been focused on. A complete history, if you will. Yeah. Yeah. So as it is something that is being worked towards. Gotcha. So like I said, he has been known as being beloved. There were some issues with him.

But he wasn't loved and adored by everyone even back then. In 1912, there was actually an assassination attempt where he was shot while he was campaigning for reelection. And the bullet hit a metal glasses holder that he had in his chest pocket before it actually did get lodged into his chest. But because it hit that metal before, it was kind of a superficial wound. And he was bleeding, but he wasn't severely injured. So he didn't go to the hospital. and he actually went on to tell his speech right after he got shot. And he started it with ladies and gentlemen,

I don't know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot, but it takes more than that to kill a bull moose. Whoa. So he was intense for sure. That's a descriptor, yeah. Yeah. Like he just got shot and then he just talks. And I guess when I was reading the description of what happened,

he was bleeding through his shirt. while he was telling this to the audience. Well, yeah, he was just shot. I know it was obviously stopped, but you still had a bullet hurled into your chest. Yep. Another thing that made Theodore Roosevelt a bit of controversy in history were his conservation efforts.

Because after his presidency, he teamed up with a biologist and a taxidermist and he went on a year-long African safari expedition that was supposed to be in name for, research, but he actually went out there and he killed over 500 animals while he was out doing research. And he just, I mean, he went through and he was researching their behaviors and he was looking at the fauna and the flora and he was researching that in Africa. But he was also doing this really extensive hunting. And he shot and killed a male lion while he was there. And people

were really up in arms about a lot of it, but people did focus a bit on the lion because he said that he killed it because he believed in a hundred years that hunting would take over this area, just like it had them with the bison and lions wouldn't exist. So he wanted to bring one home for like science research purposes and to show people what once was in the country. So this has obviously sparked a huge argument over whether or not this was actually research or if he was just big game trophy hunting while he was out there. Disguised as, oh yeah, but conservation. Yeah.

And he was working with a biologist, but he was also a taxidermist. So they both kind of went out there with these agendas to get this exotic wildlife to bring back. And they were studying things and they were making observations. So you can't take that out. But it wasn't for conservation. It's still to this day is a big topic of conversation because it's like, was it really for research or were their alternative motives? And the specific lion that he killed,

it's actually, it's over 100 years old now. And they actually have it on display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Wow. Yeah, I can see why it's still a hotly debated subject, because, I mean, we could go down the rabbit hole with discussing that too. I mean, I kind of just, like, zip my lips. I'm like, all right, I just, there's a lot of sad conversations on this one. But so I'll hold off on that. But yeah, I mean, I can see different sides to that. But at the same time, it just seems pretty, pretty odd that you're like, okay, so they're going to be hunted to extinction anyways.

And I want to understand them and protect them. But I just want one because they're going to be gone soon anyway through hunting that I'm contributing to. Yeah. But he didn't only kill one. I think he killed nine. There was just one male one that the people really focused on. Okay, see, yeah, this is taking a turn.

Yeah, it's not good. And we've done so many conservation episodes, especially recently. I feel like our stance is pretty known on it. But just to paint the full picture of Theater Roosevelt and not just this conservation president, like, we love him kind of thing. There were a lot of other things going on. But I kind of wanted to take it back to the Maltese Cross Cabin, which we're visiting. Yeah.

I'm like, where are we even going? I just, I'm confused. This episode is full of so much history, but it's also filled with places that are inside the park. So we were at the Maltese Cross cabin, and it was significant. So I mentioned that Theodore Roosevelt spent time between New York and his home in North Dakota at this cabin, and it was usually temporary. But in the year 1884, it actually became a place of grieving and healing for him. So on February 14, 1884, Theodore Roosevelt was at work in New York when he was told he needed to get home immediately. And when he

arrived to his house, he found that his mother had died from typhoid fever, which is a sickness caused by salmonella that causes fever, weakness, stomach pain, diarrhea, rashes, loss of appetite. But also his wife, who had just given birth to their daughter, Alice, only two days prior, had died from a serious kidney infection that same day. I do remember that because I know, unfortunately, the famous entry in his journal because he kept a journal. And it says February 14th and then the year. And then there's a big X there. And it says the light has gone out of my life the day that they both died. And I just. And it's Valentine's Day. I don't know if it was a thing back then, Valentine's Day. It was. I looked it up. Oh, okay.

Valentine's Day started like in year like 596 or something. Okay, I wasn't sure. But either way, yeah, just like the quote, it's just like, you know, it's so true. Like, when your spouse dies, it's just like everything in your life. It's just like the light is literally gone. It's just like sucked out. It's gone. And to have his mother die in the same day, like, I just, I've, I did know that about him. It's a sad fact. But yeah. It's super sad. And he was, I mean, he was devastated. I think that that quote is a pretty accurate. description of how he was feeling, but he was so devastated by the loss that he was like, I have to get away. I can't be here. And he actually gave his daughter, Alice, to his sister, to care for because he just didn't think that he was able to do it. And he fled back to his ranch in North Dakota. And he began living in that cabin. And here he lived as a rancher. And he worked as a sheriff for two years and kind of just tried to forget about that part of his life in New York. And he spent his days doing things outdoors and he would try and physically exhaust himself with ranch work

riding horses, roping, ranching, hunting. He was just trying to keep himself distracted all the time. And this cabin served as a major form of healing for him. And eventually, a little over two years later, he returned to life back in New York and he began raising his daughter Alice. So fun fact, actually Alice is also kind of a celebrity in history as well because she was known for quote unquote like unladylike ways where she would smoke, drink, stay out late, she partied, she attended numerous balls. She had a pet snake and she liked to gamble and she was thought of this like outlandish woman. And Theodore Roosevelt would get a lot of shit for it.

And because she would come into the White House meetings and just like cause a riot, It, cause a ruckus, whatever. And he was quoted telling someone who was like, hey, you gotta get your daughter under control here. And he said, I can either run the country or I can attend to Alice, but I cannot possibly do both. I know exactly who you're talking about now. I saw it. There's like, it comes up every once in a while on the page I follow. I think it's like US history, cool kids or like cool kids of history. I don't know. It's something like that. Yeah. And they feature her every once in a while. And there's a picture of her, a black and white photo of her with that description of her just being like this before her time wild child. You know, that's really cool.

I did for some reason I don't, I didn't put it together that she was his daughter. Yeah. Yeah. And she has a lengthy history. I don't, I think we would have really liked Alice. She sounds cool. Love it. Like I have a pet snake.

I think she had like a rat or something too and she just did her own thing. She was really living on the edge with a snake and a rat as a woman. Yeah. Like, God forbid as a woman. And she smoked. Oh, my. Get out of here. Oh, my God.

But anyway, when Roosevelt began his presidency, he no longer had time to visit the cabin. And it eventually came under ownership of other people. The cabin was bought to be used for different exhibits across the country. And it was actually lifted up and moved several times. It spent time in Missouri, Portland, Oregon, Bargo, North Dakota, and Bismarck, North Dakota. and the cabin was eventually brought back to Theodore Roosevelt National Park when the park took over its history in 1959 and it was restored to its original state. Theodore Roosevelt died suddenly in his sleep on January 6, 1919. And since the cabin has been returned to the park, which he loved so much, it is believed that he returned there with it.

Over the years, park employees and Rangers have had a series of spiritual events. And several instances, Rangers have had visitors come to them and tell them how much they enjoyed the Theodore Roosevelt reenactor who stays at the cabin. They will rave about how realistic he was, how much he looked just like the photos of the real Theodore Roosevelt. And they said that he never broke character, not even once during their entire interaction. And then only to find out later when they talk to the park service that there is no reenactor. How spooky. Spooky. Others have heard a hearty laugh coming from inside the cabin when it's empty.

People driving by after dark have reported seeing lights in the window. And some other visitors have reported seeing a shadowy figure that disappears as soon as they enter, or they will see it in the peripherals as they walk by. With all of these cases, it is widely believed that he has returned to the place that made him fall in love with the outdoors. That seems sweet. Yeah. So next on our little historic hongy, haunted tour. These stories are a little shorter than what we've gotten into, I promise.

What do you make? We're already an hour in almost. I promise that these, these are short little stories in Madora of hauntings that have gone on. So these won't be as in depth. But we're going to go into Madora and we're going, as I said, Madora is the gateway to the National Park. And we are going to visit the Chateau de Morris. Morse. Morse. Chateau De Mores. Okay. A home that was once occupied by a wealthy family, but today it is a historic house museum and is recognized as a state historic site. The chateau is a two-story white building with a bright red roof that is comprised of 26 rooms and was built in 1883. It was built by a young Frenchman by the name of Marquise de Moreses who arrived in the little town, which at the time was

actually called Little Missouri because it sat along the Missouri River. And he was a former French Army officer who fell in love with the woman by the name of Madora von Hoffman. And he decided he wanted to build a summer home and start a business in North Dakota. When Marquis arrived, he was not with his wife because she was pregnant at the time and she stayed back with her family in New York. And when he got there, he was appalled by the state of the town. He was like, I'm going to build my own stuff here. This needs some more stuff going on. So he built his hunting cabin, which is what the chateau is, and he extended it into a summer home for his family as well. And he also built a few churches. He built several businesses in town. And he claimed Little Missouri as his own. And he decided

to name the town after his wife, Medora. I was going to say, there's got to be a tie in here. I think Madora is a really pretty name. It is. Yeah. It's like, not Medusa. It's a little nicer. I was going to say, yeah, it has a different ring to it. It reminds me of, um, I really love the name Ophelia. Like, I think it's so beautiful. And it's like that. It's like an old-timey name that you just. Have you heard, um, Ophelia by, I think it's by the Lumineers? I have. Yeah. That's what it reminds me of. Now I'm not going to be able to get it out of my mind. I, I liked it because there's a, um, oh my God, what is the movie? movie. People are going to be like, oh my God. Okay. So there's a movie and it has Blake lively in it. And her name is Ophelia.

And her character is named Ophelia. And it's about like she's like in a relationship with these two guys. Like they're all together. Like they're all in a relationship. And it has to do with like weed and like she gets like abducted or kidnapped for ransom by not Penelope Cruz, the one that looks like her. What's the other actress? Selma Hayek. Yes. God, what the hell is it called? I don't know. I don't think I've seen that movie, so I can't help. It's pretty intense. But anyways, yes, her name is Ophelia in it. It has nothing to do with this story or literally anything else. But there we go. So back to Madora. And Madora, she was different than most women of those times because she was a really great horseback rider. And she was actually a big hunter herself. And she was a great shot. Marquis de Mores was an outlaw. He was known for being a rancher, a gunslinger, and a murderer. Although he was arrested for murder several times, he was always acquitted. And it was said that he was very quick to anger, and he participated in many what were duels at the time, like sword duels.

And even at one point, he sent a letter to Theodore Roosevelt challenging him to a duel, where Theodore Roosevelt responded back and said, we're not enemies. And then, nothing really came of it and they eventually became friends. Madora and her daughter moved into the chateau two months after she gave birth. The chateau was referred to by neighbors as a castle because it was just this magnificent luxurious place. I mean, it had beautiful furniture, decorations. They had servants. They had private dressing rooms. They had private studies for both of them. It was just, especially for the time, it was very luxurious. So they had moved out there because he had this like a new business idea and he wanted to do something that had never been done before. He wanted to have

a cattle farm where he would slaughter the cows and then send their meat via train in refrigerated train cars. So previously cattle were shipped alive and then killed where they were being sold because refrigerators weren't invented and you couldn't preserve anything. So he came up with like this new age idea to be able to ship meat across to different areas. And he actually built a bunch of ice houses that were every 100 miles along this train route where people could switch out the ice that had melted to preserve the meat. Gotcha. And Madora, she wasn't like so much part of the business, but she did come every summer and they eventually had two sons. She managed the runnings of their homes and she also worked with the servants that were there. She spent a lot of her

time hunting. She hunted, sorry to say it. She hunted wolves, coyotes, mountain lions, grizzly bears, and she was noted to have killed four grizzly bears during one trip to Wyoming and she was regarded as a very talented like gunsman. So nothing that we like. It's just like, it's like this is before people actually like hunted in a conservative way. In a responsible way. Yeah. Because she's just, this is more of like you prove that you're a good shot by how much you can bring home with you.

So as their business grew, they began transporting vegetables and meat from sheep. And they actually started taking these produce and meats and things like that from other people's farm and shipping those for them as well. But he was an outlaw. as I said, he's an outlaw, he's a murderer, he didn't make good friends. He was known to try and short people on their money and he would try and buy people's products for way less than they were worth. And he even tried to shave off money from Theodore Roosevelt and take money from him as well. So he started making a lot of enemies and the business started to crumble.

It was in 1886 when a brutal winter came through and killed most of the range-fed cattle. and his business had just suffered too much at this point that they left North Dakota, they left caretakers to watch over the house, and they fled to India to go on a tiger hunting expedition. Marquise never returned to North Dakota. He and Madora eventually found themselves in North Africa because Marquise had taken up some anti-Semitic views, and he had been, as we said, he tried to fight people all the time with his dueling swords and things like that. he was actually dueling Jewish people throughout France, and they eventually made their way to

North Africa where he believed he had formed an alliance with the people there, but instead, they assassinated him. Well, I'm not going to say he deserved it, but karma works in mysterious ways. Can't say we're sad about that one. Yeah. Madora did return to North Dakota one last time in 1903. She participated in some hunting, which opportunities were much more scarce. because everything had been over hunted. And she held this grand party at their home. And she invited

everyone to the area. She then went to France, where she lived out the rest of her life until she died of an infection in 1921. Now, after her death, there were still caretakers there that maintained the place until 1936 when it was designated as a state historic site. And her youngest son did help to restore the chateau and donated many of the old furnishings and glassware, along with a portrait of Madora that was painted before she was married. And this place has become a major tourist attraction in Madora, and it has also been the site of many hauntings. Many believed that after Madora's death, she returned to the place that she loved most,

which was the chateau. And it is often that tour guides will find the impression of a body in the morning on the side of the bed where Madora used to sleep. The residents of Madora often report seeing lights on in the house at night while no one was there. and on nights where there's a full moon, people have seen a woman in white on the porch. Others have also seen her away from the home. People have reported seeing a woman on horseback in a leather skirt riding side saddle through the badlands.

The woman resembles Madora and she is carrying a rifle. But if you call her out, she disappears. This is such a spooky town because I have the added, like, visual of when you sent me pictures of it. It literally looks like, how do I describe it, like a movie set, like an old Western movie. set. It doesn't look real. Yeah, it looks constructed meticulously and on purpose of like to all look. It looks a lot like, okay, actually, it doesn't look anything like this. But the way that I envision it is, and I know it wasn't all constructed all at once, like obviously it was like it's many, many years old and whatever. But there is a

town in Washington that Ian and I stumbled upon. And it's called Seaside. And it literally, we called it. We, the second, we, we didn't go there on purpose. It was just like on the way of somewhere. Mm-hmm. And it looks like we, as soon as we parked, because we wanted to just like get something to eat, let the dogs out, whatever, we're walking around this town. And we looked at each other. We're like, this seems very creepy and weird because we called it, we call it the Stefford Wives town. Because it looks like everything was built all at one time. Everything looks super uniform and everything's the same. It's like very creepy. West world type of feeling to it. Like no individuality at all? Nothing. Nothing at all. Everything's the same.

People dress the same. People talk. It's like, are we in a different planet? Like, where did we just come across? And it's so funny because so we were only there one time. We only went there once. And like that was last year, the year before maybe. And a couple weeks ago, my friend Savannah was like, oh yeah, I was just in seaside. It's like such a weird town. I'm like, and all she had to say was, it's a weird town. I'm like, wait a second, I think I've been there. And she pulled it up. I'm like, yes. That's it. It's like the planners like just saw this chunk of lander. They're like, we're going to construct everything to look the exact same. And there's going to be no difference in any of the buildings and everything's. It's just such a weird, creepy place. And Mador just seems like

that. Only the Western, like an old Western version of that. But it's like super touristy where everyone comes to like see this little slice of the world that has never changed. Right. Yeah. And it's just, yeah, it's very weird. It's just, I don't know. If anyone has ever been to seaside, I hope you understand what I'm trying to say. Or if you live there. So actually, I don't know if anyone, does anyone even really live there? I think it's a simulation. Like a bunch of a bunch of people are going to email us and they're going to be like, I live in seaside and every email is going to say the exact same thing. I know. It's like, I live in seaside. We are a. offended by your comments on our own.

How dare you? Anyways. Yeah, it's like, I feel like Medora is the Western version of Seaside, Washington. I feel like it's a little less creepy, but it's definitely like... What do you mean? You just talked about people seeing ghosts. I'm talking about hauntings. I'm like, it's not creepy as this is a haunted episode.

That's so true. You feel like you're really stepping back in time when you enter it. I have never been any place that is like Medora. It's an experience just walking through the town itself. Yeah. So next on our little haunted tour is actually, this is a place that I walked into and I had no idea like anything about it. I was just, I was walking by and the outside of the building caught my eye and I decided I wanted to go there. And it is known as the White House. And I don't know if for certain it is, it got the name from the White House. I'm assuming it did because it has like those same white pillars on the outside of it, but in a much, much smaller scale. And it's actually a little cute boutique that is in downtown Madora.

They have apparel, jewelry, boots, shoes, purses, scarves. They carry antiques and they have fun little gifts to bring home to your friends and family. Before this place was a cute little boutique, it was a private residence. And the people who lived there often experienced strange happenings. So the cupboard doors would fly open or closed by the. themselves. The lights would turn off and on on their own. The windows and doors would open and shut without anyone touching them. And when the new owners came in, they remodeled the entire building and they have not reported any paranormal activity sense. So it's unknown who was haunting this place, but it is believed

that there may have been a spirit who attached themselves to the previous owner. So when they left that they did, or it's possible that when they did the reconstruction, they had removed the physical material that was attached to whatever spirit was there. Whenever there's shifts in construction or like revamping anything, it definitely spikes some activity, I think. Yeah, yeah. And it's a fun little shop. Like I walked in and it had all these cute little trinkets and stuff.

It was a cool spot to stop in. And last but not least on our little haunted history tour, we are checking into one of the most haunted hotels in North Dakota. Oh. Oh, wait, I just have to say, it's not seaside before. everyone comes after me. It's C. Brook. It's C. Brook. Seabrook. Okay. So that was that uniform email. It's like, it is not Seaside. It is Seabrook. Yeah, it's Cbrook. I got half of it right. But yeah, that's it. I just had to say that before this got posted. Everyone needs to know. Everyone needs to know.

They do have a cute little like pet store. But yeah, I couldn't afford anything in it. But yeah, it was cool. Booshy little pet store So this haunted hotel that we are going to in North Dakota It is outside of the National Park in Madora as well And it is called the Rough Riders Hotel Oh It was built in 1884 and it was originally named the Metropolitan The hotel's name was changed in 1905

And was renamed after the Rough Riders Who were the first United States volunteer Calvary They were organized and led by Theodore Roosevelt into battles in Cuba during the Spanish-American World War. I'm glad you just told me that because do you know what the only knowledge of rough riders that I've had? What? You're going to laugh.

Isn't there like a rap group that is like the rough riders? I think so. I think it's like job rule and like, do you know what I'm talking about? I'm having like early 2000s flashbacks. I don't think it's like a group like a lyrical group. I think it's like they're a part of like there are different artists that are a part of this group. It looks like it was like a label, like a music label. Okay. Yeah. See, yep. There we go. That's that's the only knowledge of, like if you were to say Rough Riders, that is what my mind went to.

I just get this like in my mind's eye or inner ear of like jaw roll and his like raspy voice saying like Rough Riders. You know what I'm saying? Yes. Well, this is not related at all in North Dakota. I feel like we need to throw this episode out because this is just like a conversation episode about a lot of history and like weird stuff going on for sure. Yep. So essentially this hotel, it still exists today and it's one of the most popular hotels in Western North Dakota, but it is much different than the original. In 1962, a man by the name of Harold Schaefer bought the hotel and he dismantled the entire thing. However, when he did, he used almost all of the original.

lumber to restore it. In 2010, the Rough Riders Hotel went under a huge renovation again, where they added a restaurant called Theodore's dining room. They added a tavern, 68 new guest rooms, a tower suite, and a full conference room. They also added a fireplace into Theodore's dining room, and they actually took the original bricks from the original North Dakota State Capitol building that had burned down in 1930. So they're repurposing a lot of original material. That's really cool. I love that. Yeah, it's super cool. And I think this other part you're going to really like about the hotel is that throughout the hotel, there are 76 historical plaques that are placed around. And each one of them tells a different story about the historic town of Madora. And it tells all the stories of the famous cowboys and cowgirls and everyone who really made their mark on Medora. That's awesome. I do like that a lot. It's like a museum that you can sleep in. And you walk around. And I think it sounds like they might be even in the rooms that you're staying in. So you might have like your own little plaque in the room. Oh, sweet. So for years, seasonal workers, such as the Madora musical performers, live at this hotel temporarily. And the employees, along with the guests and the people from the musical have reported paranormal happenings for decades. It is commonly believed that a young boy haunts the top floor of the building. People often report a small. boy's disembodied laughter and report that he plays pranks on the guests such as flushing the toilets when

no one is in the bathroom. Odd choice of prank. On the second floor, guests have reported hearing the sound of cowboy boots walking down the hall at all hours of the night. But whenever someone goes outside to see who it is, no one is ever there. So if you are ever planning to visit Theater Roosevelt National Park or you're planning to stay in Madora, there are plenty of things to do, there's plenty of history and hauntings. Definitely check out the extensive history of the lands more than what we've covered today. Go check out that Madora musical and venture through the park. I mean, there's lots of hikes through the badlands. You can see wild horses and bison herds, of course, be safe from a distance. But this is the wrap-up of my historical tour of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

Thanks for bringing us there. I know I derailed you quite a few times, but you really, you hung in there. Yeah, I just, I enjoyed it because I know kind of like, I can visualize what you're talking about, although I haven't been there. And I would be really interested if anyone has any, like, personal, like, if you have a trail tale from Medora or Seabrook. Either or would be great. One of these weird towns, like, please. Yeah, any of these weird simulation towns would be great. I can't say that like I'm going to be going there anytime soon, but I will be going to, obviously I'll be living near and around the Rocky Mountain Wildlife Arsenal area. And also during my little move camping trek, I'm going to be spending some time.

I mean, it'll already be done by the time this comes out, but I'm going to be spending some time on Antelope Island in Utah with all the bison and all of that. So, yeah, it's going to be cool. So anyway, well, thank you for bringing us there. And I know it was supposed to be like a haunted, creepy story. And it was just like, when I went into it, I kind of pictured it. This is a history episode, which at the beginning is like, just so everyone knows, like this is definitely history geared episode. But we're going to sprinkle in some little haunting stuff in there as well.

So, I mean, the park is full of a lot of history. So if history is your thing, this is definitely an interesting part. to go to and it is pretty. It's much different than the Badlands National Park, I would say, but it's a really cool one. Like the way that I did it, I went to Theodore Roosevelt National Park, then I went to Devil's Tower National Monument, and then I came down to Badlands and we did like the Black Hills and stuff like that. So if you're in that area and you're doing a road trip around, it's definitely a cool spot to just add on your list and check it out. I mean, especially if you like history. There's a lot going on there.

Cool. All right. Well, that's it for us this week. We'll see you next time around. In the meantime, enjoy the view. But watch you're back. Bye. Bye. Thank you for joining us again this week. If you have a trail tale you'd like to share, send us

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