August 14, 2025 • 21 mins
Today we visit the North Dakota Badlands where the too often overlooked Theodore Roosevelt National Park lingers in the shadows...
While there, we answer the following questions:
- How did Theodore Roosevelt come to have a National Park named after him?
- Why is this sidelined National Park unique?
- Why should you add this fascinating park to your travel bucket list?
We'll also answer listener questions at the end - safe travels!
Works Cited:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/2711623?read-now=1&seq=6#page_scan_tab_contents
https://www.jstor.org/stable/23349843?read-now=1&seq=28#page_scan_tab_contents
https://www.nps.gov/thro/learn/historyculture/park-history.htm
https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/the-national-parks/theodore-roosevelt
https://npshistory.com/publications/roosevelt/index.htm
https://www.nps.gov/thro/learn/nature/bison-buffalo.htm
Noah and Noodles here!
We want to extend a heartfelt thanks to every listener of Backroad Odyssey.
Your support fuels our passion and inspires us to keep sharing stories and discover overlooked locations.
Follow each adventure visually at:
https://www.instagram.com/backroadsodyssey/
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to Van Life Diaries.
I'm your host, noah, joined asalways by my dog and co-host,
noodles the Woodle.
If you've been with the show,welcome back.
If you're new here, a welcomefrom me and a bark from Noodles.
Today we're visiting the NorthDakota Badlands where the
too-often-overlooked TheodoreRoosevelt National Park lingers
(00:24):
in the shadows, with itscolorful carved rock formations
and thriving buffalo herds.
Well, there we answer thefollowing questions 1.
How did Theodore Roosevelt cometo have a national park named
after him?
Interesting story there.
2.
Why is this sidelined nationalpark, along with its wildlife,
(00:46):
unique?
We'll also answer listenerquestions at the end, but for
now, join Noodles and I on ourway to the Dakota Badlands.
Safe travels.
I wonder where this road wouldlead.
So many possibilities.
Care to share what you think.
(01:10):
Oh, noodle Dolls, what do yousee Back Road Odyssey.
The rolling hills of the prairieextend beyond sight.
Steep gullies, sandstoneformations, winding waterways,
(01:35):
nomadic buffalo this is NorthDakota, and this is the land the
24-year-old Theodore Rooseveltvisits in the summer of 1883.
Just months after this firstvisit, both his mother and wife
die on the same day.
The open skies of North Dakotathen become a refuge, a place of
(02:00):
peace for the future president,a place of peace for the future
, president, the kind of peaceonly achieved by endless skies,
untouched land and open air, aserenity that Roosevelt would
(02:41):
come to believe should beprotected and accessible to all.
We are in the van and we'recamped just west of the south
unit of Theodore RooseveltNational Park, right atop a
large hill overlooking the parkand a valley park, right atop a
large hill overlooking the parkand a valley.
And there are certain places inthe nation where you feel the
space that you're in no traffic,no buildings, just space, open
air.
And I'm sure this is thefeeling, this is the space
chased by Theodore, or let'scall him Teddy Roosevelt, on his
(03:06):
various excursions into thewilderness.
I want to start with a 1903quote given by Teddy that I have
on my phone right here.
It was given at the rim of theGrand Canyon, and after this
I'll ask a couple questions.
Roosevelt at the rim of thecanyon says quote leave it as it
(03:26):
is.
You cannot improve on it.
What you can do is to keep itfor your children, your
children's children and for allwho come after you.
End quote.
So, with that said, here are myquestions.
How did Teddy come to feelstrongly about conservation in
general.
And how did that drive, thatdesire to conserve, lead to his
(03:51):
later reputation as the championof conservation and ultimately
to his name ending up on thesign of an American national
park, on the sign of an Americannational park?
From a young age, theodoreRoosevelt showed an interest in
the natural world.
His foray into taxidermyyielded a vast collection of
(04:14):
birds, small mammals andeventually large game from
Africa and the wilds of America.
And while this might comeacross as slightly
unappreciative or disregardingof the wilds and creatures that
live there, it does solidify, atleast in Roosevelt, an
appreciation for the wilds, anappreciation that later turns
(04:40):
into concrete policy thatprotects lands, kind of
ironically, and the animals thathe shot and collected.
Well, an alderman in New Yorkin 1883, roosevelt takes a
hunting trip to the DakotaBadlands and the land would, as
mentioned, become an invaluableretreat for Teddy.
(05:01):
He later buys a ranch in theDakota Badlands and returns
regularly to hunt, to ride andto hike.
After his inauguration asPresident of the United States
in 1901, following theassassination of William
McKinley, roosevelt for thefirst time now has the immense
(05:22):
power of the presidency at hisdisposal.
And while he pursues otherpolicies, other goals, while in
office, mediating theRusso-Japanese War, the
construction of the Panama Canal, halting unchecked monopolies
of the Gilded Age barons thattook advantage of the system.
Conservation becomes his mostrecognizable legacy.
(05:47):
We left our campsite and arenow driving to the park.
The sky's a bit dark, let'shope it doesn't rain on us today
.
But whatever happens happens.
And here is a quick question.
Okay, we see Roosevelt today asthis mustachioed masculine
(06:13):
champion of conservation.
But what specifically did he do?
Okay, right, what actions, whatpolicies, what movement towards
conservation did he support?
Tangibly?
Because and I'm sure Teddywould agree with this talk is
(06:34):
cheap.
Talk is cheap Until it's not.
Roosevelt is really the firstpresident to fully embrace the
wide-reaching nature of hisoffice.
He embraces the fact that thepresident can use the status and
power of the office to framethe debate rather than to react
(06:57):
to the whims and wishes ofothers, of all the forces of
politics, of others of all theforces of politics.
Most simply put, rooseveltknows that whatever he does as
president is newsworthy.
So he exploits this visibilityand pressures Congress, not
directly but through theirconstituents, by focusing on
(07:21):
growing environmental issues,amplified by the bully pulpit.
It becomes difficult for theAmerican public and, by
extension, for Congress, tooverlook the mishandling and
mistreatment of American land.
In part, this strategy, thispresence, this microphone, this
(07:41):
is what leads to five nationalparks under Roosevelt, which
required specific legislation tobe passed through Congress.
But it's the Antiquities Act,signed on June 8, 1906, that
enables Teddy to go crazy withhis conservation agenda.
Essentially, this act enablesRoosevelt and his successors to
(08:04):
proclaim historical landmarks infederal ownership as national
monuments.
Importantly, withoutcongressional approval.
Teddy very loosely interpretsthis act and proclaims 105
national monuments, all nowfederally protected.
(08:24):
In all, theodore Roosevelt,through laws, persistent
communication and a genuinedesire to conserve the wilds he
frequents throughout his life,opens the nation's eyes to the
natural wonders around them whenthe dust settles around them.
(08:51):
When the dust settles, teddy iscredited with saving 230
million acres of Americanwilderness, a legacy that
extends well beyond his death in1919.
We're in the park.
It's sprinkly a little bit, butthat's okay.
We're parked on the side of theroad.
So Teddy didn't create the parkfor himself and name it after
(09:15):
himself.
That would be wild.
It was a memorial park in 1947,something like that, and was
later elevated to a nationalpark in the 70s.
It's called Theodore RooseveltNational Park one because he
credits this land in part as thebasis for his conservation
(09:36):
beliefs, and two because peoplelater on, after his death,
wanted to acknowledge everythingthat he did for America's wilds
and wildlife.
It's a place set aside toprovide the peace that Teddy
found in this place and otherplaces around the nation
throughout his life.
Now let's get to the land itself.
(09:57):
What makes where I'm at specialand why should you travel to
the North Dakota Badlands?
Over thousands of years, theLittle Missouri River and its
tributaries cut through the softsedimentary layers of the
northern Great Plains.
(10:19):
Snow, ice, wind all add theirtouches to the landscape.
Water, though infrequent attimes, gathers in heavy erosive
downpours, forming gullies.
Prairie fires ignite coal bedsthroughout the valley, and these
beds can burn for years andbake the overlaying sediments
(10:42):
into hard natural brick, andbake the overlaying sediments
into hard natural brick.
This brick then oxidizes andturns into a brilliant red.
It's this that gives thelandscape its characteristic
color and it further shapes theland.
This hardened, baked rock isnow more resistant than the
(11:09):
unbaked sections of land.
So over time, erosion wearsdown these less resilient rocks
and voila, you have a jumbled,multicolored landscape of uneven
knobs, ridges and ravines thelandscape of Theodore Roosevelt
National Park.
But any landscape is only asinteresting as those that live
(11:32):
upon it.
Prairie dogs populate thedivots in the grasslands, over
200 bird species thrive in theopen skies and elk roam seeking
the plentiful edible grasses.
But maybe the animal mostassociated with Theodore
(11:57):
Roosevelt National Park are theherds of massive American
buffalo.
The rain lets up a bit.
I'm out here at one of thepullouts in the park, so one of
the main reasons I'm here ispassing up Narrow Valley.
Right in front of me now, about200 meters.
(12:22):
So a herd of bison maybe 15 orso, is slowly trudging away from
us through the damp grassy soil, truly truly one of the most
amazing animals to see in personin their natural habitat.
And to think that they onceexisted in crazy amounts of
numbers throughout the GreatPlains and beyond is just wild.
(12:44):
And this right in front of mehere specifically is one of the
reasons this park is special.
Once, ranging from Mexico tosouthern New England, the
buffalo once roamed the GreatPlains in numbers as high as 60
(13:04):
million.
The large sustainable herdsprovided food, clothes, shelter
and tools for tribes across theplains.
Then American expansion westand over hunting drive the
buffalo to the brink ofextinction by the turn of the
20th century brink of extinction.
(13:28):
By the turn of the 20th centurythe thundering herds of
millions of buffalo are reducedto an estimated 300.
If not for the foresight ofcertain people, including
Roosevelt, this trend might havecontinued.
The Lacey Act of 1894 grantsthe Buffalo of Yellowstone legal
protection.
Concerned private citizensbegin to capture and shelter
(13:51):
bison, and Teddy both co-foundsthe American Bison Society of
1905, which promotes bisonreintroduction and conservation
projects, and he later supportsthe establishment of reserves to
protect bison populations.
All of this and more leads tothe 500,000 plus buffalo
(14:15):
population today in NorthAmerica.
The buffalo herd justdisappeared over the valley a
couple minutes ago.
It's so cool.
(14:37):
So the buffalo in this parkarrived in the 50s when
something like 28, 29 bison werebrought from a wildlife refuge
and placed within the borders ofTheodore Roosevelt National
Park, and by 1962, the herdincreased to like 145, something
crazy like that.
Today there are over 600 in thenorth and south units of the
(15:02):
park.
I don't know, it's really justone of the most heartening
stories of success that you'llfind.
But here's something that I'vebeen thinking about.
Teddy first came to the Dakotasto hunt Buffalo.
That's why he came.
(15:37):
He wanted to hunt them beforethey the trails, breathing in
this fresh air, seeing theroaming buffalo?
You can't argue with theconservation legacy he left
behind.
The 70,000 plus acres ofTheodore Roosevelt National Park
(15:57):
, with its sloping valleys,jagged formations, colorful
gullies and roaming buffalo, lieuntouched as the last relic of
a man who found peace here andfought for its preservation.
The rolling hills of theprairie extend beyond sight
(16:29):
Steep gullies, sandstoneformations, winding waterways,
nomadic buffalo this is NorthDakota.
This is the kind of peace onlyachieved by endless skies,
unspoiled land and open air.
(16:51):
This is Theodore RooseveltNational Park.
(17:19):
With that said, let's get tolistener questions.
Just listen to your nationalpark episode.
Cool, is there any actual valuein becoming a national park
city?
My first response is yeah.
Yeah, if you missed the episode, anyone who's listening now?
Basically, you apply to anorganization that's based in
(17:42):
London to become a national parkcity, so it's a nonprofit
organization.
But in order to get that title,to get that name, you have to
apply, you have to meet theirkind of rigorous standards and
you have to wait a while.
So you have to want it andsomebody comes to the city, a
representative from thatorganization, to look at what
(18:07):
your city does to warrant itbeing called that.
So that in itself, I think,definitely makes it worth it
Because it's a point of pride.
I think if you call somethingspecial, you're going to treat
it as special and for the peopleof Chattanooga, people driving
through Chattanooga, visitingknowing it, referring to it as a
(18:30):
national park city, can onlybenefit and as well as like
marketing for a city.
So yeah, I mean long, answershort.
I really do think it's a it's agood thing.
What's the what's the bad of it?
Would be my response as well.
(18:50):
Do you think you downplayed theimportance of Gettysburg in your
last episode?
You know what's interestingabout history and battles and
events is everything hasimportance.
You can emphasize anything andit will be important.
And Gettysburg for sure wasimportant because it stopped Lee
(19:14):
from invading the North, butbecause we were focusing on
Chattanooga Lee from invadingthe North, but because we were
focusing on Chattanooga, Iwanted to emphasize how
important that event was towardsbringing about the end of the
war.
So Gettysburg for suredefinitely was important.
But also you have to look atother battles that are kind of
overlooked, other events thatare overlooked, and kind of
(19:36):
communicate why they'reimportant.
Looked other events that areoverlooked and kind of
communicate why they'reimportant.
Last question here Is there anypart of the country you've been
to that you feel should become anational park or national
monument?
Awesome question.
My first thought is theBoundary Waters in Minnesota,
northern Minnesota.
I think it's a remarkablyinteresting, unique landscape
(20:01):
that is undervisited andundervalued, a lot like Theodore
Roosevelt National Park.
That's just my first generalresponse to that question, but I
love, love, love that question.
I'll have to think about that alittle more.
It's Noah here.
Thank you for traveling withNoodles and I.
Every second you spend with usmeans the world.
(20:22):
Final thoughts TheodoreRoosevelt National Park is one
of those sites that people tendto overlook.
I definitely did.
It was between one of thedestinations that I wanted to go
to and where I was and Ithought, oh, let's go check it
out, let's learn about it.
And it also is one of thosedestinations that surprises you
(20:43):
when you end up going there.
And for anyone who's taking aroad trip or considering going
there, or if this episodechanged your mind about maybe
wanting to go there, my officialrecommendation is please,
please, please do.
And, with that said, if youfind value in the show, taking a
minute to rate and review theshow wherever you're listening
(21:06):
now helps.
Noodles and I continue to putthe work we'd like to into each
and every episode.
Thank you for traveling with us.
Be good to each other.
Where to next.
Welcome to Van Life Diaries.
I'm your host, noah, joined asalways by my dog and co-host,
noodles the Woodle.
If you've been with the show,welcome back.
If you're new here, a welcomefrom me and a bark from Noodles.
Today we're visiting the NorthDakota Badlands where the
too-often-overlooked TheodoreRoosevelt National Park lingers
(00:24):
in the shadows, with itscolorful carved rock formations
and thriving buffalo herds.
Well, there we answer thefollowing questions 1.
How did Theodore Roosevelt cometo have a national park named
after him?
Interesting story there.
2.
Why is this sidelined nationalpark, along with its wildlife,
(00:46):
unique?
We'll also answer listenerquestions at the end, but for
now, join Noodles and I on ourway to the Dakota Badlands.
Safe travels.
I wonder where this road wouldlead.
So many possibilities.
Care to share what you think.
(01:10):
Oh, noodle Dolls, what do yousee Back Road Odyssey.
The rolling hills of the prairieextend beyond sight.
Steep gullies, sandstoneformations, winding waterways,
(01:35):
nomadic buffalo this is NorthDakota, and this is the land the
24-year-old Theodore Rooseveltvisits in the summer of 1883.
Just months after this firstvisit, both his mother and wife
die on the same day.
The open skies of North Dakotathen become a refuge, a place of
(02:00):
peace for the future president,a place of peace for the future
, president, the kind of peaceonly achieved by endless skies,
untouched land and open air, aserenity that Roosevelt would
(02:41):
come to believe should beprotected and accessible to all.
We are in the van and we'recamped just west of the south
unit of Theodore RooseveltNational Park, right atop a
large hill overlooking the parkand a valley park, right atop a
large hill overlooking the parkand a valley.
And there are certain places inthe nation where you feel the
space that you're in no traffic,no buildings, just space, open
air.
And I'm sure this is thefeeling, this is the space
chased by Theodore, or let'scall him Teddy Roosevelt, on his
(03:06):
various excursions into thewilderness.
I want to start with a 1903quote given by Teddy that I have
on my phone right here.
It was given at the rim of theGrand Canyon, and after this
I'll ask a couple questions.
Roosevelt at the rim of thecanyon says quote leave it as it
(03:26):
is.
You cannot improve on it.
What you can do is to keep itfor your children, your
children's children and for allwho come after you.
End quote.
So, with that said, here are myquestions.
How did Teddy come to feelstrongly about conservation in
general.
And how did that drive, thatdesire to conserve, lead to his
(03:51):
later reputation as the championof conservation and ultimately
to his name ending up on thesign of an American national
park, on the sign of an Americannational park?
From a young age, theodoreRoosevelt showed an interest in
the natural world.
His foray into taxidermyyielded a vast collection of
(04:14):
birds, small mammals andeventually large game from
Africa and the wilds of America.
And while this might comeacross as slightly
unappreciative or disregardingof the wilds and creatures that
live there, it does solidify, atleast in Roosevelt, an
appreciation for the wilds, anappreciation that later turns
(04:40):
into concrete policy thatprotects lands, kind of
ironically, and the animals thathe shot and collected.
Well, an alderman in New Yorkin 1883, roosevelt takes a
hunting trip to the DakotaBadlands and the land would, as
mentioned, become an invaluableretreat for Teddy.
(05:01):
He later buys a ranch in theDakota Badlands and returns
regularly to hunt, to ride andto hike.
After his inauguration asPresident of the United States
in 1901, following theassassination of William
McKinley, roosevelt for thefirst time now has the immense
(05:22):
power of the presidency at hisdisposal.
And while he pursues otherpolicies, other goals, while in
office, mediating theRusso-Japanese War, the
construction of the Panama Canal, halting unchecked monopolies
of the Gilded Age barons thattook advantage of the system.
Conservation becomes his mostrecognizable legacy.
(05:47):
We left our campsite and arenow driving to the park.
The sky's a bit dark, let'shope it doesn't rain on us today
.
But whatever happens happens.
And here is a quick question.
Okay, we see Roosevelt today asthis mustachioed masculine
(06:13):
champion of conservation.
But what specifically did he do?
Okay, right, what actions, whatpolicies, what movement towards
conservation did he support?
Tangibly?
Because and I'm sure Teddywould agree with this talk is
(06:34):
cheap.
Talk is cheap Until it's not.
Roosevelt is really the firstpresident to fully embrace the
wide-reaching nature of hisoffice.
He embraces the fact that thepresident can use the status and
power of the office to framethe debate rather than to react
(06:57):
to the whims and wishes ofothers, of all the forces of
politics, of others of all theforces of politics.
Most simply put, rooseveltknows that whatever he does as
president is newsworthy.
So he exploits this visibilityand pressures Congress, not
directly but through theirconstituents, by focusing on
(07:21):
growing environmental issues,amplified by the bully pulpit.
It becomes difficult for theAmerican public and, by
extension, for Congress, tooverlook the mishandling and
mistreatment of American land.
In part, this strategy, thispresence, this microphone, this
(07:41):
is what leads to five nationalparks under Roosevelt, which
required specific legislation tobe passed through Congress.
But it's the Antiquities Act,signed on June 8, 1906, that
enables Teddy to go crazy withhis conservation agenda.
Essentially, this act enablesRoosevelt and his successors to
(08:04):
proclaim historical landmarks infederal ownership as national
monuments.
Importantly, withoutcongressional approval.
Teddy very loosely interpretsthis act and proclaims 105
national monuments, all nowfederally protected.
(08:24):
In all, theodore Roosevelt,through laws, persistent
communication and a genuinedesire to conserve the wilds he
frequents throughout his life,opens the nation's eyes to the
natural wonders around them whenthe dust settles around them.
(08:51):
When the dust settles, teddy iscredited with saving 230
million acres of Americanwilderness, a legacy that
extends well beyond his death in1919.
We're in the park.
It's sprinkly a little bit, butthat's okay.
We're parked on the side of theroad.
So Teddy didn't create the parkfor himself and name it after
(09:15):
himself.
That would be wild.
It was a memorial park in 1947,something like that, and was
later elevated to a nationalpark in the 70s.
It's called Theodore RooseveltNational Park one because he
credits this land in part as thebasis for his conservation
(09:36):
beliefs, and two because peoplelater on, after his death,
wanted to acknowledge everythingthat he did for America's wilds
and wildlife.
It's a place set aside toprovide the peace that Teddy
found in this place and otherplaces around the nation
throughout his life.
Now let's get to the land itself.
(09:57):
What makes where I'm at specialand why should you travel to
the North Dakota Badlands?
Over thousands of years, theLittle Missouri River and its
tributaries cut through the softsedimentary layers of the
northern Great Plains.
(10:19):
Snow, ice, wind all add theirtouches to the landscape.
Water, though infrequent attimes, gathers in heavy erosive
downpours, forming gullies.
Prairie fires ignite coal bedsthroughout the valley, and these
beds can burn for years andbake the overlaying sediments
(10:42):
into hard natural brick, andbake the overlaying sediments
into hard natural brick.
This brick then oxidizes andturns into a brilliant red.
It's this that gives thelandscape its characteristic
color and it further shapes theland.
This hardened, baked rock isnow more resistant than the
(11:09):
unbaked sections of land.
So over time, erosion wearsdown these less resilient rocks
and voila, you have a jumbled,multicolored landscape of uneven
knobs, ridges and ravines thelandscape of Theodore Roosevelt
National Park.
But any landscape is only asinteresting as those that live
(11:32):
upon it.
Prairie dogs populate thedivots in the grasslands, over
200 bird species thrive in theopen skies and elk roam seeking
the plentiful edible grasses.
But maybe the animal mostassociated with Theodore
(11:57):
Roosevelt National Park are theherds of massive American
buffalo.
The rain lets up a bit.
I'm out here at one of thepullouts in the park, so one of
the main reasons I'm here ispassing up Narrow Valley.
Right in front of me now, about200 meters.
(12:22):
So a herd of bison maybe 15 orso, is slowly trudging away from
us through the damp grassy soil, truly truly one of the most
amazing animals to see in personin their natural habitat.
And to think that they onceexisted in crazy amounts of
numbers throughout the GreatPlains and beyond is just wild.
(12:44):
And this right in front of mehere specifically is one of the
reasons this park is special.
Once, ranging from Mexico tosouthern New England, the
buffalo once roamed the GreatPlains in numbers as high as 60
(13:04):
million.
The large sustainable herdsprovided food, clothes, shelter
and tools for tribes across theplains.
Then American expansion westand over hunting drive the
buffalo to the brink ofextinction by the turn of the
20th century brink of extinction.
(13:28):
By the turn of the 20th centurythe thundering herds of
millions of buffalo are reducedto an estimated 300.
If not for the foresight ofcertain people, including
Roosevelt, this trend might havecontinued.
The Lacey Act of 1894 grantsthe Buffalo of Yellowstone legal
protection.
Concerned private citizensbegin to capture and shelter
(13:51):
bison, and Teddy both co-foundsthe American Bison Society of
1905, which promotes bisonreintroduction and conservation
projects, and he later supportsthe establishment of reserves to
protect bison populations.
All of this and more leads tothe 500,000 plus buffalo
(14:15):
population today in NorthAmerica.
The buffalo herd justdisappeared over the valley a
couple minutes ago.
It's so cool.
(14:37):
So the buffalo in this parkarrived in the 50s when
something like 28, 29 bison werebrought from a wildlife refuge
and placed within the borders ofTheodore Roosevelt National
Park, and by 1962, the herdincreased to like 145, something
crazy like that.
Today there are over 600 in thenorth and south units of the
(15:02):
park.
I don't know, it's really justone of the most heartening
stories of success that you'llfind.
But here's something that I'vebeen thinking about.
Teddy first came to the Dakotasto hunt Buffalo.
That's why he came.
(15:37):
He wanted to hunt them beforethey the trails, breathing in
this fresh air, seeing theroaming buffalo?
You can't argue with theconservation legacy he left
behind.
The 70,000 plus acres ofTheodore Roosevelt National Park
(15:57):
, with its sloping valleys,jagged formations, colorful
gullies and roaming buffalo, lieuntouched as the last relic of
a man who found peace here andfought for its preservation.
The rolling hills of theprairie extend beyond sight
(16:29):
Steep gullies, sandstoneformations, winding waterways,
nomadic buffalo this is NorthDakota.
This is the kind of peace onlyachieved by endless skies,
unspoiled land and open air.
(16:51):
This is Theodore RooseveltNational Park.
(17:19):
With that said, let's get tolistener questions.
Just listen to your nationalpark episode.
Cool, is there any actual valuein becoming a national park
city?
My first response is yeah.
Yeah, if you missed the episode, anyone who's listening now?
Basically, you apply to anorganization that's based in
(17:42):
London to become a national parkcity, so it's a nonprofit
organization.
But in order to get that title,to get that name, you have to
apply, you have to meet theirkind of rigorous standards and
you have to wait a while.
So you have to want it andsomebody comes to the city, a
representative from thatorganization, to look at what
(18:07):
your city does to warrant itbeing called that.
So that in itself, I think,definitely makes it worth it
Because it's a point of pride.
I think if you call somethingspecial, you're going to treat
it as special and for the peopleof Chattanooga, people driving
through Chattanooga, visitingknowing it, referring to it as a
(18:30):
national park city, can onlybenefit and as well as like
marketing for a city.
So yeah, I mean long, answershort.
I really do think it's a it's agood thing.
What's the what's the bad of it?
Would be my response as well.
(18:50):
Do you think you downplayed theimportance of Gettysburg in your
last episode?
You know what's interestingabout history and battles and
events is everything hasimportance.
You can emphasize anything andit will be important.
And Gettysburg for sure wasimportant because it stopped Lee
(19:14):
from invading the North, butbecause we were focusing on
Chattanooga Lee from invadingthe North, but because we were
focusing on Chattanooga, Iwanted to emphasize how
important that event was towardsbringing about the end of the
war.
So Gettysburg for suredefinitely was important.
But also you have to look atother battles that are kind of
overlooked, other events thatare overlooked, and kind of
(19:36):
communicate why they'reimportant.
Looked other events that areoverlooked and kind of
communicate why they'reimportant.
Last question here Is there anypart of the country you've been
to that you feel should become anational park or national
monument?
Awesome question.
My first thought is theBoundary Waters in Minnesota,
northern Minnesota.
I think it's a remarkablyinteresting, unique landscape
(20:01):
that is undervisited andundervalued, a lot like Theodore
Roosevelt National Park.
That's just my first generalresponse to that question, but I
love, love, love that question.
I'll have to think about that alittle more.
It's Noah here.
Thank you for traveling withNoodles and I.
Every second you spend with usmeans the world.
(20:22):
Final thoughts TheodoreRoosevelt National Park is one
of those sites that people tendto overlook.
I definitely did.
It was between one of thedestinations that I wanted to go
to and where I was and Ithought, oh, let's go check it
out, let's learn about it.
And it also is one of thosedestinations that surprises you
(20:43):
when you end up going there.
And for anyone who's taking aroad trip or considering going
there, or if this episodechanged your mind about maybe
wanting to go there, my officialrecommendation is please,
please, please do.
And, with that said, if youfind value in the show, taking a
minute to rate and review theshow wherever you're listening
(21:06):
now helps.
Noodles and I continue to putthe work we'd like to into each
and every episode.
Thank you for traveling with us.
Be good to each other.
Where to next.
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