Blogs from Medora, North Dakota, United States, North America - page 2

THE BASICS On August 7, we headed west again on US 2 and decided to take a "tour detour" in a loop over Devils Lake to Fort Lincoln. We continued, stopped briefly in Rugby, then spent the night at a pleasant town park in Towner, with electric hookup only. Next day, we traveled through the oil boom countryside, heading toward the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. That night, we again camped at a town park, in Grassy Butte, with electric only. Next morning, we drove (car only) the 14 mile scenic drive (and back) in the North Unit of the T.R.N.P. through gorgeous badlands and grassy plains. We rehooked to the RV and proceeded to Medora, about 50 miles south, where you enter the South Unit of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Showers felt sooooo good when ... read more

07/16/2010 to 07/20/2010 - Medora, North Dakota: We arrived at Medora Campground mid-day after an easy freeway drive of 280 miles. What a fun place to spend some time! We planned on a 4 night stay but would happily have stayed for several more. Medora was founded in 1883 by a 24-year old French nobleman, the Marquis de Mores, and named after his bride, Medora von Hoffman. The Marquis built a meat packing plant, a hotel, stores, and a large home overlooking his new town. Despite heavy financial backing, all of the Marquis' various enterprises ended in failure by 1886. The huge "hunting cabin" they built was used by the family for only 3 summers then never lived in again. It continued to be maintained by the family until it was eventually donated to the State ... read more

Boy do I have a bunch to tell you this time. We are in Medora which is a very tiny town in western North Dakota. My niece Andrea had told me about it and so we decided to head there from Spearfish. Before we left Spearfish we did have a little boo-boo. Don was walking Karlie and he wanted to get a picture of her with her new "friend" the little baby lamb and between keeping her on the leash and away from the lamb and getting a picture, well you can guess what happened. Yep, the camera was dropped and needless to say a gonner. We stopped at Walmart on the way out of town for me to buy a replacement. So, the pictures you will see starting with this blog are from our new ... read more

Obfuscator writes: Shadehill State Park in South Dakota wasn’t too bad. It had a nice lake that we were right next to, and some good sunset and morning views. It wasn’t too special though, so we didn’t stay long in the morning. Since we were in the north-western part of South Dakota, we decided to make a little detour to see the site of the Battle of Slim Buttes (approx.), which is near Reva, South Dakota. On the way we got sidetracked into stopping in Bison, SD, which advertised itself as having a Sod House and Museum. We were unable to find the Sod House, though we were able to find a museum. We skipped it, because it looked small and not particularly interesting. By the Bison High School we found a historical marker for a ... read more

Teddy's ParkMaureen Kelly/Robert Tait Roosevelt first came to the badlands in 1883, and he became interested in the cattle business. He returned to New York, but had a small cabin, the Maltese Cross Ranch built the Dakota Territory. When he returned he spent most of his time hunting and tending to his ranches. By spending time in the Dakota Territory, he became alarmed by the damage that was being done to the land and its wildlife. When he became president in1901, Roosevelt pursued this interest in natural history. As a conservationist, Teddy Roosevelt was a major figure in American history. We went to the visitor’s center and watched the video of the badlands. (In my opinion the video was superficial and overly wordy, however, the ranger said it won an award… go figure.) Then we had ... read more