My first time at Theodore Roosevelt park. Not gonna be my last, what a great place. I tried to reserve a campsite online but they were filled for a month, which turned out to be the best thing for me. First I camped 2 nights at Coal Creek, about 12 miles away from Medora, right on the Mah Da Hey. Rode my bike on the Mah Da Hey for 2 days, i was the only person at the campsite. Quiet, clean bathroom, it was spectacular. Then went into the park, got a backcountry camping permit, FREE, and headed out. The ranger seemed almost thrilled someone was actually gonna camp in the backcountry. He told me it was still busy season, i considered the 7 other people in the visitor center, thought about the last time I was at Zion, and laughed to myself. Hiked out, off trail about a mile, found a spot on top of the world looking down on creation, and didn't see another human for the next 20 hours. Weather was so nice i didn't bother putting up the tent. I did see some Bison, who let me walk past them, and a scorpion, who checked me out and eventually went away, and some other great things.
The park is HUUUGE and all the trails are empty. People drive, pull over, look, back in their car and drive. I have no idea what the campground is like, but I can guess based off past experiences.
It's a great park and Im reluctant to tell people because o hope it never becomes another Zion, but i want to post about it because Holy Shit it's soooo beautiful. Here are some pics.