In 1884, Theodore Roosevelt’s wife and mother died on the same day, causing him to abandon his early political career. He sought solitude in the Badlands in North Dakota. Roosevelt became a rancher, hunter and deputy sheriff. His Maltese Cross Cabin and Elkhorn Ranch can be visited at Theodore Roosevelt National Park. You are also likely to see wild horses, buffalo, deer, sheep and elk roaming in the vibrant, rolling terrain and patchy grasslands of this 70,446 acre park.