Published July 7, 2026 05:37 pm
A half-dozen signs announced, “Trail Closed.”
I was mountain biking in mountainous terrain when I inadvertently drove across a security perimeter.
Earlier that afternoon, my wife and I enjoyed mah dah he trail Head south from Medora, through grassy hills broken by layered rocks. She stopped for a rest at a beautiful high point and offered new views Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library (TRPL) complex, where we will soon enjoy a sneak preview.
Meanwhile, I dropped down into a narrow valley where I saw a Forest Service ranger and a plainclothes officer blocking the way. Luckily, my story checked out. Obviously, I was a legitimate mountain biker with so much skill, and not, I think, a sleeper agent in downcountry disguise.
“Okay, I trust you,” the ranger said, showing me a map of the buffer zone before dropping me back into the forest.
“Hey, I heard about the President coming to town,” I volunteered.
“I don’t know,” he said cryptically.
It was hard to believe. Almost everyone was talking about the impending trip – well, kind of raving. Donald J. Trump will attend the grand opening of a monumental museum dedicated to the father of American conservation. Stop for applause.
In many places I have visited across the country over the past year, no one seemed that excited about the President. This was especially true in nearby Theodore Roosevelt National ParkNamed to honor number 26 for expanding the beloved National Park Service system. Naturally, a number of park goers, particularly 45/47, were intent on dismantling the system, eliminating the workforce, and potentially selling off public land for development. The interesting thing is that some people were even calling that big man by name. It made our few days in the outback feel like the opening act of a horror movie.
he is comingPeople looked around on the trails, whispering, as if they were afraid of a running bison. We’re getting out of Dodge before it’s too late.
Maybe he is coming by helicopter, Suggested a retired couple who saw two military V-22 Ospreys land at the Painted Canyon Visitor Center. I heard he is coming by trainA young local said. A man joked about horseback. No one seriously debated her hike, even when an ill-fated pair of shoes was left at the remote Petrified Forest trailhead.
“It’s as if the hiker jumped out of his shoes and ran away,” said one investigator, presumably me, as the thunder rumbled and the storm surged.
Three days before Trump became official visitor #1, my wife and I got a chance to preview TRPL.
The 96,000-square-foot facility’s light colors and sweeping ceilings intentionally pay homage to the serene landscape. Inside, the zero-emissions building is made from glazed wood and rammed-earth construction, a modern variation on the ancient technique of depositing sediment into the walls with natural cooling properties.
The so-called “library” is actually an in-depth museum, and visitors walk through intricately designed rooms, each of which depicts scenes from the life of Teddy Roosevelt. There are interactive digital displays, many of which use AI in various ways. For example, visitors can add their faces to historical images, thus taking refuge in simpler times. Or they could talk to AI Roosevelt and ask whether the latest Trump-inspired crisis has a real purpose or is just another distraction.
“We’re not trying to tell you what to think about TR,” said communications chief Matt Briney, who showed us around. “We’re just trying to tell the story and let you decide for yourself.”
After an affluent childhood in 1860s New York City that suffered from asthma, Roosevelt entered state politics as a young man. Then his life is thrown into turmoil when his wife and mother die unexpectedly on the same night. A distraught Roosevelt went hunting and ranching in the wild Dakota Badlands, where he found new purpose as a cowboy-like champion for the common people against powerful business interests.
Roosevelt’s antitrust approach led to progressive reforms related to labor, health, regulation, and protection. He established five national parks and hundreds of national forests, monuments and game preserves. His presidency was not without controversy, including the expansion of American imperialism overseas. However, domestically, he challenged the wealthy elite and won over a broad bipartisan swath of the American people. Not to give it all away, but that guy’s face was later carved into Mount Rushmore.
(So far, I don’t see any positive parallels between TR and DJT’s presidency. But if you find one, please write it in an old-time letter and send it via Pony Express.)
During our preview, we took a tour of the TRPL grounds. A one-mile path winds around the green roof terraced gardens and hill of the complex, which are covered with native grasses and plants. An interesting rope trampoline allows children (and outdoor writers known to embarrass their wives) to jump above the Badlands for joy or despair.
It’s something like this. This edutainment museum is a center not only for learning and conservation but also for family entertainment. Outside visitors may wish to wait until TRPL builds its planned 16-mile hiking trail system in the adjacent Little Missouri National Grassland. Access to the trails will be free, while tours of the museum include a moderately high admission fee.
During our preview, we also kept crossing paths with the advance team. Secret Service, White House representatives and TRPL staffers scurried around discussing how to handle the flow of Trump’s visit based on the big question: Would he like the museum or not?
My wife and I were so lucky that we sped off to Montana the day before Trump entered Medora in a custom-painted Freedom 250 train. The “fake news” drew attention to crowd numbers, noting how only a few hundred people had come out to welcome the President. Pro-Trump outlets emphasized that this remote tourist town has a population of less than 200. Such qualification ignores the fact that thousands of people, from across the political spectrum, had already come for the 4th of July weekend and the TRPL inauguration.
Maybe they were “washing their hair” on the trails, exploring the Dakota Badlands that still need Roosevelt-style protection. The national park has a significant backlog of deferred maintenance. Water levels in the Little Missouri River are very low these days due to agriculture, development, and more recently, mining. hydraulic fracking.
Luckily for TRPL, Trump appeared to be enjoying his trip, meaning his public funding is expected to continue. No. 45/47 spoke to AI No. 26, asking about this ghostly projection of a domestic champion, wondering if Roosevelt considered the Panama Canal his greatest achievement.
Even the AI Teddy seemed somewhat nervous about the topic, he did not answer the question he was asked, but he did convey a message that the library wants to convey to all visitors, including its official first.
“Each day a President faces storms that most people have never seen, but if you remain patient and remember the nation comes first, you succeed…”
Wise words from the father of American conservation, who now houses a monumental museum that relays a message about public service that is often ignored: nation comes first.
