Teddy’s Park – Dakota Vacation blog post #6

I'd love to go down a long rabbit hole on this post, but I'll leave it to you to pursue further information on the 26th president of the United States. 

Theodore Roosevelt was elected vice president under William McKinley in 1900. This would be McKinley's second term, but his first vice president had passed away the year before. After six months as vice president, Roosevelt became the 26th president in September of 1901 after President McKinley was assassinated.

During his two terms in office, Roosevelt established the United States Forest Service, five National Parks, 18 new U.S. National Monuments, 51 bird reserves, four game preserves, and 150 National Forests.

Before going into politics, though, Teddy owned a ranch in the Dakotas. As a child, he had been in ill health, suffering from uncontrollable asthma, but he made up for it by working to be as fit as he could. When he was in his twenties, he headed to the area around Medora, North Dakota, to hunt buffalo. He fell in love with the land and invested in a ranch there. 

In 1935, sixteen years after his death, the area near his ranch was designated the Roosevelt Recreation Demonstration Area. In 1978, many more acres were added, and the area became known as Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

It's as beautiful a place as I have ever visited. I hope to return one day to explore it further.