Our Return to the Dakotas

The morning after I sent our our last blog, we departed Glacier National Park in Montana and pointed the front of our motorhome east toward the Dakotas. We made two “one-night stands” at a couple of “no frills” locations before arriving at our next planned destination in Medora, North Dakota. For our first “quickie” we stayed at a campground in Garrison, Montana. There is really nothing to say about Garrison, or the campground, but breakfast at the nearby Avon Cafe was great. The second quickie was an overnight stay at a Cabellas store in Billings, Montana. This Cabellas not only welcomed RVs to stay overnight, they even set up a special (and safe) RV parking area right next to the store. The customer service people in the store were welcoming and made us feel great about staying with them. At least a dozen RVs stayed the night!  We rarely “parking lot camp,” but we always purchase items to thank the business for their hospitality whenever we do.

It has been four years since we visited the Dakotas. We arrived in Medora, our next planned destination on third day out. Anna and I first visited Medora, in 2017. It is a quaint well planned little town in western North Dakota next to Theodore Roosevelt National Park (TRNP). Much of the town’s operation is funded and operated by the Theodore Roosevelt foundation. For being such a small town, Medora offers many things to do. The first item on our to-do list was the Medora Musical with a grand outdoor stage musical production, with the best pitchfork fondue steak dinner you have ever tasted. Everything at the Medora Musical runs like a well oiled machine with a plethora of volunteers supplementing the regular employees. Medora is a great example of a small all-American town with a heart of patriotism and respect for our armed forces.

 

When we arrived at our campground in Medora, we had an interestingly decorative motorhome parked beside our space. It belonged to the nicest couple from Iowa who had it painted for them by their foster children. We later met the couple at the Medora Musical where they were in period dress as Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders. They tooled around the area on their vintage Honda motorcycle with a “Teddy” bear on the back.

 

The next day we ventured into TRNP where we viewed beautiful vistas of the northern badlands, bison, several large colonies of black-tailed prairie dogs, and a least three small herds of wild horses. We hurried to town to have a quick lunch of great pizza and chicken wings so we could make it to the Old Town Hall Theatre to see the Teddy Roosevelt Show, The show was a comedic, yet factual oratory about the life of Teddy Roosevelt, our 26th president as told by Joe Wiegand, an actor who portrays our former president. On our last day in Medora, my brother-in-law, Wes, and I made a pre-dawn visit to the park. While we weren’t able to get the sunrise photos we hoped for, we did have two surprise encounters with bison. 

 

We all had breakfast at the Cowboy Cafe, and attended the Magic Through Time show featuring Colin Zasadny. Later that night we made a sunset drive into the entrance of TRNP. After taking a couple of sunset photos, a small sized herd of 60 to 70 bison suddenly descended upon us. We had to move the CRV quickly to get it out of the path of the oncoming herd. The bison enjoyed making us a little nervous, and we were able to momentarily experience “herd mentality.” As we exited the park we witnessed three coyotes hunting prairie dogs, but it was much too dark for photos. In spite of the unusual heat wave (111°) gripping the northwest United States, Medora, once again, proved to be a great stop on our trip to the Dakotas.

 

While the land encompassing TRNP is known as the the northern badlands, the well-known “Badlands” are located in South Dakota. So, of course we had to go there. But, on our way, we stopped once again at Custer State Park to see a large bison herd, the Needles Highway, and last, but not least, Mount Rushmore. This area is known as the black hills of South Dakota. It is like a large granite island in the middle of the plains where there were once violent uplifts and volcanoes. There is always much to do in this area. Two of the smaller attractions (Wind Cave National Park and Jewel Cave National Monument) were totally booked during our visit. We visited Wind Cave on a previous trip, but missed out on touring Jewel Cave both times. While at Custer State Park, our car was once again nearly run over by a large herd of over 100 bison. We went on a late evening chuck wagon dinner venture within Custer State Park that departed the Blue Bell Lodge, and took us on a five mile journey into the woods for a fabulous steak dinner and entertainment. We also drove the Needles Highway while we toured Custer State Park. We were able to witness a full size tour bus drive through the “Needles Eye Tunnel.” We heard about this years ago, but this was the first time we witnessed the feat. It took the driver several times to line the bus up to make it through – just inches on each side from the jagged walls. When the driver successfully came through, I noticed that he had a bottle of Maalox, and a “Student Driver” sticker in front of his seat! The driver sure knew how to play it up for those watching.

 

The next day, our golden retriever, Camper, became violently ill. He must have swallowed something when he was out and about that made him sick. We had to take a day to drive to Rapid City, SD, where we picked up medications and special food to help him return to normal. He started feeling much better just a day later. The following day while Anna’s sister and brother-in-law caught a flight back to the Carolinas for a family wedding, while Anna and I drove to Deadwood, Spearfish, and Spearfish Canyon, just to the north of the Mount Rushmore area. While in the canyon, we had roadside views of the Devil’s Bathtub, Bridal Veil Falls, and made a couple of short hikes to Spearfish Falls and Roughlock Falls. These are gorgeous views in the fall, but we made the most out of them in their summer greenery. We had a great time and revisited other locations in Spearfish and Deadwood that we enjoyed during our 2017 summer trip.

 

To cap off our Dakotas journey, we spent four days and three nights inside of Badlands National  Park near Interior, South Dakota. It was 101° to 107° each day we were in the Badlands with very little relief at night. The area was considered to be bad by the Dakota Indians and the early French trappers who believed the land to be largely inhospitable. The park is a geological wonder of fossilized soils and sandstone, creating peaks, gullies, buttes, and other formations from the oldest yellow mounds to the youngest jagged mountain formations known as the sharps. It is a land of beauty that changes color every hour. The Badlands also is inhabited by a large variety of wildlife including bighorn sheep, mountain goats, and prairie dogs and many other small mammals, birds, and reptiles. On one nighttime photography outing to shoot a moonrise, I was surprised to look directly overhead and see the milky way. I quickly set up for a milky way shot, and was able to capture it with a couple of shooting meteors. The moon rise waited just long enough for me to get the picture I wanted without peeking around the side of the mountain. On our last early morning outing we took to photograph toadstool rock in Norbeck Pass, we were surprised to see and photograph a half-dozen bighorn sheep and a group of mountain goats. A great way to wrap up our stay in Badlands. As I write this blog, we are preparing to leave for a one-night stopover in Sidney, Nebraska, and on to Rocky Mountain National Park. 

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As you travel down the road of life, keep it between the mustard and the mayonnaise. Our prayer is that the Lord watches over you and your loved ones and keeps you safe.

As always, we hope to see you down the road!