North Dakota: Emptiness and Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Capital: Bismarck

Largest City: Fargo

Population: 779,000

Admitted: 1889

North Dakota is a midwest state. When you look at a list of the people who have been to all fifty states, North Dakota is often listed as the 50th state visited along with Alaska and Hawaii. It does not have any well-recognized locations, like the least-populated state of Wyoming with Yellowstone National Park, or any large well-known cities. North Dakota was not my 50th state! I visited on a trip to a few other mid-western states and the Canadian province, Manitoba.

First Visit to North Dakota

We arrived in North Dakota from Manitoba, Canada after an unpleasant border crossing in July of 2019. Upon seeing signs for Bismarck, I told my husband that we would be hitting Bismarck rush hour traffic soon. I assumed that since it is the capital and one of the largest cities in the state than there would be plenty of traffic. I was wrong. Bismarck has around 70,000 people who live there and the next town in any direction is about an hour away.

Our trip to North Dakota consisted of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. This was my first national park ever! In the reviews I read, it said I might see prairie dogs, wild horses and bison. Given my luck, I expected to spot none of them. I, however, easily spotted all three.

Wildlife spotting in Theodore Roosevelt National Park

On our last night in North Dakota, we stayed in a small town. It was the 4th of July and that small town loved fireworks. Fireworks woke me up out of a dead sleep.

Despite North Dakota not being very popular, I really enjoyed my visited. I liked how open and empty it was. The speed limit was 80 mph with no traffic anywhere. I also really enjoyed my visit to Theodore Roosevelt National Park, and it will always have that nostalgia as my first one visited.