Bones, Bison, Beef, and Badlands -- Bully!
June 6 – 9, 2023
Our first stop in North Dakota was Bismarck. We spent the night camping at Hillcrest Acres RV Park. Preferring to trek between 200-300 miles on a travel day, this seemed like a long day at 352 miles of hauling the camper.
By the time we got checked in and unhitched, we didn’t have a ton of time to check out North Dakota’s capital. What we did see was pretty spectacular though! Being 94°F outside, we took the campground host’s advice and headed to the air-conditioning offered at North Dakota Heritage Center and State Museum. There, we enjoyed exploring their Adaptation Gallery: Geologic Time. They have an absolutely wonderful display of sea creatures that once lived in the ancient oceans here some 600 million years ago. Having just been fishing, I couldn’t help but envision my reaction if this sword ray ended up at the end of my line!
Then, it was off to the grocery store and gas station as the next day was another travel day. Our next stop was in Medora, which sits right at the entrance to Theodore Roosevelt National Park’s South Unit. You could easily walk to the South Unit Visitor Center from the Medora Campground if you wanted to!
Teddy first arrived in the Dakota Territory in 1883 to hunt bison and bought the Maltese Cross Ranch for $14,000 before ending his two-week trip. Bully! The Maltese Cabin was built that winter by two of his ranch partners at his request. This cabin has now been restored and sits just behind the South Unit Visitor Center.
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| You can see the Maltese Cross Brand on the bottom right side of the cabin -- third log up. |
On February 14, 1884, Roosevelt suffered a devastating tragedy, lamenting the light had gone out of his life. His wife, Alice, died from undiagnosed Bright’s disease two days after giving birth and his mother died from Typhoid disease on the same day. Completely broken, Teddy returned to Medora, throwing himself into the life of a rancher. He built Elkhorn Ranch and credits the North Dakota Badlands surrounding his ranch with giving him the solitude and peace he needed to rejuvenate and heal. His famous quote, “I never would have been President were it not for my experiences in North Dakota,” explains the strength and wisdom he gained during the few years he spent in Medora. Roosevelt felt a tremendous love for the land which influenced him greatly to become the conservationist he was.
We only had time to explore a portion of the South Unit, but that just gives us reason to circle back here another time! One of our favorite activities was hiking the Painted Canyon Nature Trail where we saw cap rocks protecting the soft sandstone hoodoos along with being completely immersed into the striated colors of the badlands
Driving past one of the many prairie dog towns, we saw a coyote who was undoubtedly looking for a morning snack! We also saw a handful of bison scattered around the various parts of the South Unit. I understand they are more plentiful in the North Unit.
Wind Canyon was another favorite short hike along with Biocourt Trail. Not only did we see a bison (no, we didn’t try to pet it!), but we saw a wide variety of wildflowers, including prickly pear cacti and Sego lilies in full bloom. I had no idea prickly pear grew this far north! It was particularly fun coming across an artist capturing the beauty of the Yellowstone River winding its way through the bottom of Wind Canyon!
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| Yellowstone River! |
We had really been looking forward to hiking out and seeing the petrified forest, but the temperatures rose into the 90’s and we couldn’t help remembering the tragedy in Big Bend N.P. when a woman was hiking in the afternoon heat and didn’t survive. This hike quickly got added to the “next time” list when the morning had slipped away from us and the afternoon heat grew unsafe.
Medora has quite the reputation for both their Pitchfork Fondue dinner and their musical show. Honestly, there’s probably not a lot of competition in town as far as evening entertainment goes, but that’s not to say they weren’t both great to do! The Pitchfork Fondue dinner is exactly what it sounds like! Steaks are speared onto the prongs of pitchforks and cooked in giant caldrons of lard! It’s quite the scene! The rest of dinner (baked beans, coleslaw, fresh fruit salad, garlic toast, veggies with ranch…) was served buffet style and then taken to your picnic table of choice. This entire scene sat at the top of a butte, giving you a stunning view of the valley below. We even saw an elk across the way on top of an adjacent butte! Just to top things off, we were welcomed to dinner by hosts Theodore and Edith Roosevelt!
Following dinner, we walked across the parking lot for the Medora Musical. There, we were entertained with singing and dancing. One of the songs was even accompanied by clogging, taking us back to the days we clogged with the CeMar Cloggers in Marion, Iowa! The theme of the show focused on the history of Medora and highlighted the lives of early settlers who put Medora on the map, including Theodore Roosevelt. I had no idea Roosevelt had recruited many of his Rough Riders from Medora for the Battle of San Juan Hill during the Spanish American War. I’m telling you, this traveling gig is the best history class around!
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| The young gal playing the steel guitar is quite the gifted musician! |
Medora Campground had all of the amenities you could ask for, along with the easiest access to a national park you could ever dream of! We had nice neighbors and reliable hook-ups, so we considered it a solid choice for a place to call home for a couple of nights. It’s also official – the sticker for state number 46 is on our map!
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| The map is getting pretty colorful! |
Next Up: Yellowstone NP!
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