We accomplished so much during our brief stay in Medora, North Dakota, that I'm blogging in two parts. I'm beginning with what brought us to this little town (pop. 167)- the $450 million Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library.

The museum memorializes his election through the creation of a White House Facade that displays projection mapped content of his time at the White House accompanied by speaker narration.

We could even ask TR questions in real-time!

The post-presidency was, by ordinary standards, four lifetimes. Roosevelt led the Smithsonian-Roosevelt African Expedition collecting specimens that filled the Smithsonian for decades. He toured Europe, meeting kings, delivering speeches, and arriving at the funeral of Britain’s King Edward VII. In April 1910, at the Sorbonne in Paris, he delivered the speech popularly known as “Citizenship in a Republic” — the source of the “Man in the Arena” passage that has become his most enduring single contribution to American civic life. How wonderful to hear/see it.

I had read about this but couldn't believe it was exhibited. "As TR greeted a crowd from an open car outside the Hotel Gilpatrick, John Schrank, a mentally ill bar owner, shot him at point-blank range. The bullet pierced the written speech TR had in his coat pocket and deflected off his metal eyeglass case before becoming lodged in his chest. He forced himself to cough and, seeing no blood, knew that no vital organs were damaged. Despite his injury, TR proceeded to the Milwaukee Auditorium to deliver his scheduled address. He spoke for an impressive eighty minutes to an enthusiastic crowd of thousands before leaving the stage to go to the hospital." What a guy!

In 1914, Roosevelt and his son Kermit led the Roosevelt-Rondon Scientific Expedition through the Brazilian Amazon, including the first descent of the unmapped river the Brazilians called the River of Doubt and later renamed the Rio Roosevelt. He nearly died of fever and infection before arriving back to Sagamore Hill permanently weakened.

In the museum's Amazon exhibit, multiple projectors work in concert with an immersive audio system to recreate Theodore Roosevelt's harrowing expedition through the Amazon. The panoramic visuals and sound transport visitors into the heart of the journey, offering a vivid glimpse into the dangerous conditions and extraordinary hardships that the Roosevelts narrowly survived. So dang awesome.

This is my favorite. It looks as if it was taken by Dorothea Lange in the style of his Dust Bowl images. AI at its finest.

This one not so much but I do love that I'm in Cuba with TR. That's cool.

At the time he became the 26th President, Roosevelt credited the Badlands as “where the romance of my life began.” He famously said, "I never would have been President if it had not been for my experience in North Dakota." His experiences here inspired landmark conservation efforts, including the creation of national forests and wildlife sanctuaries. By the time of his death, Roosevelt had become a legend that lives on in North Dakota. This presidential library is an unbelievably perfect tribute to a man who has done so much for America. Oh, we still have so much more to learn. Next time!