Theodore Roosevelt National Park – Medora, ND
Medora, North Dakota. At the doorstep of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, this tiny tourist town is a fun destination and full of patriotism.
The North Dakota badlands take their name from the description of anyone who ever tried to cross them (pre-highways and vehicle day). The Lakota called the area “mako sica” (bad land) and the French explorers declared it bad land to travel. Muddy, falling rocks, rattle snakes, hot conditions, brutal winters – trying to traverse the area was difficult and dangerous. But dang, it’s gorgeous.
On the Road Again
We got a lot of funny looks as we pulled out of the seasonal campground as everyone started pulling in for the holiday weekend. Those Weirdos, I’m sure they were thinking. Toodle-loo tiny town, we’re off to … a tinier town.
Leaving our neighbors to enjoy the extra space for the holiday weekend we hit the road.
Roadside America
Between Detroit Lakes and Medora are a lot of farms, fields, prairies and road side attractions. So have giant statue, will stop.
First up was Jamestown, ND to see the World’s Largest Buffalo. This turned out to be a surprisingly cute little old-timey town with shops and lots to see. We were just there for the obligatory photo, but had we more time, it would have been fun to stay and explore.
It was hot, the walk from the parking lot to the buffalo was more than enough for poor old Toby, so we just got our picture and left.
If you’re in the area, make a stop here and visit the proprietors.
Next up along I-94 was Salem Sue, the World’s Largest Cow, even bigger than the buffalo.
Unfortunately getting up to the top of the hill to visit Sue was limited to vehicles under 40 feet. She seems cool, but unhitching the RV to go meet her seemed like overkill, we had a decent view from the road below. Maybe next time, Sue!
Making a small detour, we headed down the Enchanted Highway for a magical sculpture tour.
Unless you live down this road, there is really no reason to drive down it except to see these sculptures. Each one has a nice, big parking area with room to turn around in an RV so getting out and seeing them was no problem. The road itself was a little narrow, and when an 18-wheeler went past us going the other direction, Jamey was white-knuckling it a little.
Each sculpture was unique and interesting in their own way. The Teddy Roosevelt Rides Again was my favorite, since we were on the way to his national park, after all. Of course, I had to pose the boys with the horses.
And, because I’m a grownup, I also made Jamey pose looking up the skirt of the mom of the Tin Family. Don’t worry, he didn’t see anything.
Medora Campground
Roadside attractions checked off the list, we arrived at the city of Medora campground around 7pm and had to remember how to set up the camper. It took a few tries to get level and make a little more room for the neighbors, but muscle memory kicked in, so we got it done pretty quickly.
The campground has great views of the buttes and the Little Missouri River winds through. It was very pretty.
But the sites are small, and our sewer connection was next to the neighbors picnic table. Gross.
We were fortunate enough to get an end spot, so we actually had lots of space out our front door.
The sites are so small that before we went about the regular set up process, we put the slide out to make sure they had enough room to sit at their picnic table.
After we got set up, we took the boys for a stroll around the campground. Look at this view! Just steps from our door. Small sites, a little pricey for FHU, but walking distance to everything and you can’t beat those views.
Teddy Roosevelt, a Brief History Lesson
Young Theodore Roosevelt first visited Medora from New York, in 1883 to go hunting. Bagging a giant buffalo was pretty exciting to him and he fell in love with the land. He also got pretty jazzed about cattle ranching, so he bought a couple ranches and hired a some friends to run the ranches.
Fun fact, Texas cattle ranchers drove their longhorn steer here to pasture. Many died and the ranchers fled. Today there are long horn steer and wild horses descended from those abandoned ranches.
Long story short, after his wife died in childbirth on the same day his mom died of typhoid fever, he came back to Medora to heal his heart. The locals were suspicious of the city slicker from New York, but his ranching skills and general badassness convinced them he was one of them. Roosevelt always credited his time in North Dakota for making him the man he became who would go on to become President.
Seeing the land suffer under over ranching and over grazing spurred him to conservation efforts, and he ended up establishing more than 230 million acres of public land. So, if you love National Parks, you have Teddy to thank (he also hated being called Teddy).
Painted Canyon
Saturday morning we headed out for views and scenery. We started with a visit to Painted Canyon. As you’re coming into town, the scenery is a little hilly but mostly nothing to write home about, and then BOOM! Beautiful colored buttes. It truly is a sight to see.
Photos do not do this place justice, you really have to experience it in person to appreciate the awe inspiring beauty.
The visitors center was closed due to COVID-19, but there were park rangers outside offering advice and information. We knew we wanted to do some hiking, so we opted for the shorter, 1 mile loop. The rangers advice: bring water – you can get dehydrated quickly, watch out for rattlesnakes (rattlesnakes!!) and spray for ticks. Check, what?, and check. Away we go! One mile will be easy-peasy!
This was quite a challenging hike! For starters, it was over 90 degrees. Lots of steep climbs. But so, so worth it. Again, photos don’t do it justice, but I’m going to put them here anyway.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park South Unit
After a strenuous hike, we drove through Theodore Roosevelt National Park, South Unit. The entrance is less than a mile from the campground, but it is a 36 mile loop through the park, 🎶 where buffalo roam 🎶 so you’ll want to drive through. When we were there, the road as washed out toward the end so it was 12 miles in and turn around. Lots of great views! We saw a few bison, lots of prairie dog towns, and all the badlands.
At the visitor center is Theodore Roosevelt’s original cabin, closed (again, COVID-19). In more normal times, it would have been very interesting to explore the museum and learn more about Teddy and his life in North Dakota.
The Medora Musical
After a long, hot day of hiking, it was time to go to the Medora Musical. A patriotic tribute to Theodore Roosevelt and the history of the area.
The amphitheater is just over one mile from the campground, so I had the smart idea that we should just bike across the street there. What I didn’t know was that it was one mile straight up a very steep hill. Don’t do that. It sucked. After a full day of activity in 90+ degrees, that was not a great idea. And then to sit outside for the musical … I was hot. I must have looked as hot as I felt because a woman from the show brought me water and encouraged us to move to the section in the shade. I was very appreciative of the attention!
Anyway, the musical is corny and fun. The singers are very talented! The music was fun, some modern songs like God’s Country, by Blake Shelton and Country Girl, by Luke Bryan and even an instrumental version of We Will Rock You, by Queen and of course, God Bless The U.S.A, by Lee Greenwood.
The band, The Coal Diggers, was fun and talented! It was a fun, patriotic way to spend a couple hours celebrating America’s birthday.
Medora Drinking
After the musical, we took the thrilling ride down the hill and back to the camper. Rain was forecast so we decided to drive the short mile to the “downtown” area.
First stop, Medora Uncork’d. This is a very nice little winery. They had some sweet, local wines that even Jamey liked. We spent a fun hour here chatting with the bartenders and a couple at the bar. They had a pizza menu too, so if you’re in the area and need a bite, it smelled good!
After that, we walked over to the Little Missouri Saloon, AKA Little Mo’s.
Since it was the Fourth of July, everyone was dressed in their flag attire and stupid MAGA hats.
The fireworks were canceled due to the rain and for some reason one of the bartenders at Little Mo’s captured an American flag from … somewhere. He brought it in the bar to drunken cheers. Dudes let the flag touch the floor a couple of times. He tried to hang it backward. He crumpled it and hugged it. He tried to make girls kiss it before ordering a drink.
After a couple of drinks my frustration took over and I lectured these knuckleheads on the proper flag code. I had to remind them frequently to respect the damn thing, it it isn’t a toy. Most of America could use a refresher course on the code, honestly. But doesn’t everyone know you NEVER let it touch the ground!
Patriotism means caring about your country, recognizing our history, and respecting the symbols that represent this nation. Pseudo-patriotism is loving Trump more than you respect the rest of your fellow Americans, its blind worship of the flag and it’s treating it like a toy, it’s ignoring the history that got us to today. I may be a Democrat, but I’m a goddamn patriot and I won’t sit by and let some knuckleheads exploit this symbol of our great county in exchange for hollow cheers of dumb drunk people.
I know the kids mean well. But I am sick of being told I can’t be a patriot simply because I voted for a President with a D (Democrat) behind their name.
Thank you for attending my TedTalk.
Maah Daah Hey Trail
The next day, we were up and at ‘em early so we could do a little single-track mountain biking. The Maah Daah Hey Trail is famous for its sweeping views and thrilling climbs. Most of it is too scary for my blood, but there is a reasonable section near the campground I wanted to explore.
Away we went, ready for adventure. There is a lovely paved trail from the campground into town and toward the Maah Daah Hey Trail – after about a mile and a half, we reached the single-track section. Gorgeous! Exactly what I hoped for. Less than a quarter mile in, a gate was closed over the trail, however. I can only guess the pouring rain from the night before made part of the trail inaccessible.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Unit
Reading reviews of the area online, all accounts said the North Unit of the National Park has the best views. We were skeptical it could be any better than Painted Canyon, but we had to find out for ourselves.
The North Unit is 68 miles from the South Unit. Since we knew this trip would easily be 5+ hours, we brought the boys with. I was a little worried Buddy might lose his mind at the sight of a bison (as he’s prone to do when he sees horses) and cause a stampede … but we took the gamble.
We did pass a bison on the road, and while Buddy was curious, he stayed quiet. Everyone lived.
The internet was right, the North Unit is even more amazing than the South. The buttes are bigger, more colorful and the “Cannonballs” are really cool.
Millions of years ago, the entire area was a giant sea. Geology, man, it’s mind boggling! As the water receded, the land underneath emerged, sediment washed down from the mountains and layers built up over time. The landscape is a window into history.
There are lots of short and long hikes available at the North Unit. If we come back sometime, I’d get a dog sitter and spend way more time exploring here. Make sure the North Unit is on your list!
Pitchfork Fondue
Another “must do” in Medora is the Pitchfork Fondue. It’s also at the top of the hill with the musical. Most people try to do the dinner and musical the same day, but I couldn’t get tickets on the same days.
Here they grill steaks, on giant pitchforks, over a fire. Each meal comes with sides and a salad bar. Pre-COVID it was a standard, self-serve (read: pile it high!) salad bar, but they had employees dishing up each item.
It’s a tourist must do. I’m glad we did it, but I wouldn’t do it again. The steaks were very well done. But it was a fun thing to say we’ve done once. If we return to Medora, I would not do this one again.
We did a little shopping around the small town and got some souvenir T-shirts and obligatory magnet to add to the collection.
Homeward Bound
Monday we had to pack up and head home. It was a great trip, and I’m sure we appreciated it even more after months of being stationary.
With a long drive ahead of us and no more roadside attractions to breakup the drive, we paused for lunch at Stone Home Brewing in Bismarck. The couple we met at the winery recommended the surfer boy pizza, so we took that recommendation and added jalapeño egg rolls. We each also had a beer. It was a good place to stop and stretch our legs and the dogs were welcome on the patio.
A few more hours later, we were back to Detroit Lakes and set back up in the seasonal site once more. Then it was a few more hours until we got home and back to normal life.
We’ll be exploring more in Detroit Lakes through July and August until we leave for the last time and head to Okoboji for our 10 year anniversary.
