Although he was more a tourist and outside investor in the West than a permanent resident, Roosevelt and the West is one of America's great stories. His sojourns in the Dakotas, Montana, and Wyoming had a powerful influence on his outlook and politics. Most of all, his time in the West brought him great joy.- Stephen E. Ambrose, introduction to Hunting Trips of a Ranchman and The Wilderness Hunter

It rains here when it rains an' it's hot when it's hot,The real folks is real folks which city folks is not.The dark is as the dark was before the stars was made;The sun is as the sun was before God thought of shade;An' the prairie an' the butte-tops an' the long winds, when they blow,Is like the things what Adam knew on his birthday, long ago.- from Medora Nights