Our Stay In Medora, ND

What can I say about Medora, ND. It was to be a stopping off place since our reservations in South Dakota are not until June 25. We only planned to stay three nights and here we are staying for a fourth night.

Medora was founded in 1883 by a young Frenchman, The Marquis de Mores who named the town for his bride, Medora von Hoffman.

A little about where we are staying. The name of the campground is Red Trail and it is a family owned, family run place. The sites are long but narrow. They are gravel and grass and very few have a concrete patio.They are full most of the time. They have live music EVERY night. A man and his wife (Vern and Rita Davis) play and sing country music (softly). They do not blast you off the map with loudness. Vern plays the guitar and drums and his wife, Rita, plays the keyboard and bass. She plays the bass instrument with one hand. Both are multi-talented. They play from 6:30 to 9:30 pm.

When we arrived and got things set up, it was still early so we decided to look around town. Medora is small and it's claim to fame seems to be the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. This apparently brings in a lot of visitors every year and it appears to be growing (no Walmart though). We went to visit the Information Center to get the lowdown on what to do in the area. Then we went to the Medora Museum which is full of relics and memorabilia about Roosevelt. Rooselvelt grew up in North Dakota and they are very proud of this fact. He attributes his interest in nature and conservation to his time spent here.

At home and as with everything else we have encountered, our router went out and after many conversations with our friend, Norm, it was determined that we needed a new router. So-o-o, the next day we took off to Dickinson, ND (the nearest Walmart - 33 miles away) to get one. No problem there as Walmart had what we needed. Decided not to attempt hooking it up that night and just went to hear the music. We ended up spending many hours trying to get things back to normal...and partially succeeded. Have just decided to wait until we get somewhere we can get expert help to completely get things back to normal.

The next day we took the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. We watched the short video (most visitor places now have a short video to get you started) and then took off on the 36 mile scenic loop. The first thing of interest we saw was what is called "Prairie Dog Town". Having never seen a live Prairie Dog, I was enthralled. They were scooting around or just sitting up everywhere.

As we continued on, the came across buffalo (they're called bison here). They don't seem to pay much attention to cars going by. There were plenty of overlooks, such as the North Dakota Badlands Overlook and these are like overlooks everywhere. Beautiful, beautiful scenery.

We were beginning to get discouraged because we still had not seen the wild horses or deer. All of a sudden, the wild horses appeared. Not right up to the road but off in a distance. The first one we saw was a black stallion on top of a hill and below was a herd of mares. WOW, it was like something you seen in the movies. After that, we saw many more but the first one was the most impressive.

As we were about to exit the park I looked out the window and there was a beautiful deer. She looked as if she was sitting down and did not move even when we stopped the car. AND, she was pretty close to the road. What a sight she was. I think she was just doing her business and would not be interrupted. At the end of the route, there was another Prairie Dog Town. Still can't get over those little creatures.

On Monday, we went to the "Ticket Office" to purchase tickets to the Pitchfork Fondue and to see the Medora Musical. Tuesday was Senior Day and we got a discount which we'll take any time we can get it.

We went to the Cowboy Museum and looked at all the cowboy stuff that the museum had. It also had rodeo memorabilia since a couple of cowboys from ND had won national recognition and a couple of the girls from ND had been named "Miss North Dakota Rodeo Queen". (or something like that)

We went to the Pitchfork Fondue at the Tjaden Terrace which was an experience in itself. They put steaks on pitchforks and cook them in vats of oil (fonduing they call it). It was something to see and there were a lot of people there. You could get a 12 oz. ribeye, 9 oz New York Strip or you could have the "hotdog buffet". The Coal Diggers band played while everyone found a seat. Long picnic tables and benches were set up. They started serving at 6:15 sharp and you went through a line (in fact they had several lines going) got your plate, your veggies, fruit, beans, potato salad, bread and then picked up your steak AND they had really good brownies for desert. It was quite an event we are so glad we did not miss.

Since the Musical was at the Burning Hillls Amphitheatre next to the Tjaden Terrace and started at 8:30 pm, we decided to hang around. So glad we did. We saw more wild horses and the first elk we have seen anywhere since we've been gone. Beautiful, big and has huge antlers. There were three of them that just seemed to hang out munching on grass on top of a mountain right at the theatre.

To get to the seating area, you could walk down a ramp most of the way then take an escalator or elevator down to seating area. THEN, you had to walk down the steps to get to your seat (keeping in mind that you also had to walk back up the steps). They also had courtesy golf carts that would take you down the first level.

Now to the Medora Musical. I find it hard to describe the incredible job these performers did. They dance and sing (I got out of breath just watching them) and are extremely good. The Coal Diggers band support the singers/dancers.

As with all performances, they begin with The National Anthem. From there it was all up hill. Every song and every dance was superably done. The costumes were colorful and I loved the boots the ladies wore. They could square dance, clog and even tap dance. It's hard to tell you just how much we enjoyed this

Next to the last part of the performance, they brought in the Peking Acrobats....if you have never seen these young people perform, you don't know what you have missed. They are so talented and their balancing is unbelievable. They are just incredible.

The last song was I'M PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN.

We are so glad we came to Medora. It is a beautiful place and the 36 mile South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park and its scenic sights we will not soon forget. It seems every where we go we find more and more things we want to remember and tell people about.

Oh, did you know they have "summer snow" here? Well that's what they call the fuzzy stuff that comes off the cottonwood trees. Apparently it is so heavy that it piles up like snow along the streets and other places. I try to remember everything we see but I do forget so if I find I have left something out that I feel you may be interested in, I'll update you next time.

One other thing that I just thought of....when we first arrived here and set the clock on the microwave, I used my cell phone. Well, low and behold, I found out that we are sitting on the boundary of the Mountain Time Zone and Central Time Zone. I tried to reset my cell but alas, it just went right back to Central Time. Just had to e-mail the family and tell them we were still two hours behind them.

If you read anything in our blog and think we may have a picture to go along with it, let us know. I am still trying to figure out how to put all the pictures out there for everyone to see if they want to. I'll keep working on it.

Hope you've enjoyed reading about Medora, ND and if you ever get a chance to visit here, you should do so.

We're off tomorrow for Rapid City, South Dakota and new adventures.