Day 5 - Across the Range to North Dakota

Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Medora, North Dakota, United States
This morning began early again - a normal occurrence on these road trips. We enjoyed our final Cracker Barrel breakfast on this trip that got us fueled for another long day. By the end it will be longer than we had planned but I will save that for later.

After breakfast we drove about 30 minutes to Pompey's Pillar . This is a national landmark that tells about the Lewis and Clark expedition. At this location William Clark carved his name and the date into the rock to mark his journey. It is the only known physical marking by either Lewis or Clark. There is a nice visitors center with a variety of learning opportunities. A short walk takes you to Pompey's Pillar where you can view the carving and also climb to the top to view the surrounding landscape. Travel tip is to bring mosquito spray.

Back on the highway we headed for North Dakota on I-94. We passed Miles City but did not stop as we did not have time. Miles City is called Montana's Cowboy Town. Maybe another trip. Another hour up the road we stopped in Glendive for a quick lunch at Subway. Subway was packed. We waited in a long line. Apparently there is nothing else to eat in Glendive.

We were soon on our way to the North Dakota boarder. The terrain changed in to badlands type with grass, hills, and rock winding around like puzzle pieces . This is also national grasslands area. We arrived at Theodore Roosevelt National Park and the town of Medora. Medora has quite the history.

Medora was founded by a French settler and named for his wife, Medora. At one point it was a busy town with a meat packing plant that served the local cattle ranchers. The plant closed and the town faded. President Roosevelt was fond of this region and had a cattle ranch nearby. Another person who was fond of Medora was Harold Schafer who was a North Dakota native and businessman whose Gold Seal Company produced products including Mr Bubbles. Mr. Schafer purchased the town of Medora and developed into a tourist destination with an outdoor musical stage show that continues today. There are hotels and campgrounds for local accommodations. The area offers hiking, biking, fishing, golf, horse back riding and more for activities. The town features many old restored buildings with shops to browse.

Because Medora is next to the entrance to Theodore Roosevelt National Park a lot of history of our 22nd President is presented in the town . You may encounter the President and his wife strolling the streets stopping to great the tourists and pose for pictures. Also at 3:30 in the old town theatre there is a presentation by an exceptional Theodore Roosevelt impersinator. He has traveled all 50 states performing and has performed at the White House for President Bush. During his presentation he greeted us and asked where we were from, we told him Spokane and Nashville. During his presentation he told two stories about events during President Roosevelt's presidency that happened in Spokane and Nashville. President Roosevelt was trying to get his budget proposed and passed by the opposing political party would not fund the printing and publishing of his proposal. The Spokane Chamber of Commerce raised the money to pay for the printing. In Nashville President Roosevelt attended a dinner during a tour of Hermitage, the home of President Andrew Jackson. At the dinner he complimented the chef on the fine coffee, remarking it was "good to the last drop ." The coffee that was served at that dinner came from a local coffee supplier called "Maxwell House". Many years later, after Presidents Roosevelt's death, Maxwell House used the quote and President Roosevelt's image as part of the "Good to the last drop" marketing campaign. At the end of the show he gave a Teddy Bear to Taylor. The Teddy Bear really was created based on a story of President Roosevelt, it was originally called "Teddy's Bear".

After the show we drove up the hill to the Burning Hills Amphitheater where we would enjoy our cowboy dinner and the Medora Musical. This is located on a bluff above Medora. The view in all directions is beautiful. A cowboy dinner of buffalo, chicken, and ribs with all the fixings outside with a view, it doesn't get much better. The weather was blue sky and sunshine for perfect evening. After dinner we waited until the amphitheater was open for seating. The amphitheater is built into the hillside and you enter from the top . There are escalators that take you down to the seats. It is amazing to see and experience. In the middle of nowhere is a nightly outdoor musical that runs from June to September. 2014 is the 50th year and the show this year showcases the music and performers of the past. After intermission they had a comedian from Las Vegas who did a fine job getting the crowd laughing, and mostly family friendly. The show features horses, elk, colored lights on the hillside in the shape of the American flag, singing, dancing, and more. The show is pure Americana. It starts with the raising of the American flag and signing of the national anthem, includes several gospel songs and concludes with red, white and blue clad signers and dancers in a big finale.

Words cannot fully communicate our shock to what an amazing experience Medora is. It is in the middle of nowhere and offers a lot of education, entertainment and recreation. It is the number one tourist attraction in North Dakota .

The show ended just before 10pm and we headed for Dickinson, North Dakota for our planned hotel for the night. This is where things made a big change from our plans. Our hotel had given our rooms away and there was not a hotel room in Dickinson to be found. Our options were limited. We could drive further east to Bismarck or south to Rapid City. We decided to drive through the night to Rapid City. A four hour drive through the pitch blackness of a near moonless night. There is also no straight road from Dickinson to Rapid City. Rural state highways that are straight for miles followed by a 90 degree left and a 90 degree right, then straight for miles again. We were watching carefully for deer and did see a couple by the side of the road. We nearly hit a large owl that was retrieving some road kill off the center of the road. Along this route of some 220 miles there was nothing, no services, only about 6 vehicles (mostly semis) and a couple farm houses. Our route dumped us into Sturgis where we saw the remnants of the Sturgis Motorcycle Festival . Fences and bleachers were still standing along some parking lots and streets. Most of the businesses seemed to be taverns and saloons. We jumped on I-90 and headed east to Rapid City. About 20 minutes later we were checking into the Ramada Motel in Rapid City. I believe he Ramada was originally used a housing for the stone carvers who worked on Mount Rushmore - or at least it seamed that old. The three locks on the motel room doors made me feel safe. Oh well, at least we had some beds to get a few hours sleep. It was 2:30am when we got into the motel.

So what happened to our hotel in Dickinson? I had guaranteed late check in with my credit card. Problem was our credit card number changed after some fraudulent charges a couple months ago. When they tried to process the late check in the charge was declined and they gave our rooms away. Lesson is to call the day before to reconfirm any hotel late check in.

Everyone was very patient as we made a long day even longer. On the upside we got to celebrate Brett's birthday (July 17) in both North and South Dakota.

Comments

T&P
2014-07-18

Fantastic fantastic. We should do the same !!

2025-02-15

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