We decided to go to Medora, North Dakota on the advice of some friends in our Texas RV club. We think their advice was great, although we would have been happier had we planned for more than two nights.
The first night in Medora, we attended the pitchfork-steak dinner (our steaks were actually cooked on pitchforks) and the Medora Musical (in an outdoor ampitheater). On our way to the dinner, we walked by an RV with a chocolate poodle in the window. We took a picture since the poodle reminded us of Rick and Judy’s Annie who traveled with us for two weeks of our trip. When we sat down to eat with the other several hundred people in the dining hall, we were amused to find that we were sitting next to the people who owned the RV and the dog. They were from Canada and were touring in the U.S. for a month. The pictures between the stead dinner and the ampitheater show the view from the walking area near the dinner hall an the top of the amiptheater.
While we were waiting for the show to start, we watched two elk with very big antlers roaming on the hill in the background as well as a couple of cowboys on horseback. The man in white at center stage on the last ampitheater page was Buffalo Dale, and by coincidence, we ended up talking to him the next day while we were eating lunch. Then, we ran into him again taking his parents to the Bully Pulpit play. So, he sort of became our buddy. He introduced us to Joey O who does a comedy golf act, so Joey O became our buddy, also.
The ranger in one of the pictures is telling about the log cabin that Teddy Roosevelt built when he first came to North Dakota. Originally, it was located seven miles away from where it is now, but today it is at the entrance to Teddy Roosevelt National Park. The close up of the end of a log on the log cabin shows the Double Cross brand that Teddy Roosevelt used on his ranch. The rancher told us that Teddy Roosevelt had fallen in love with North Dakota and travelled back and forth between there and New York. When his mother and wife both died in the same year on Valentine’s Day, Teddy retreated to this North Dakota cabin to heal.
After we left the cabin tour, we drove the 36-mile loop around Teddy Roosevelt National Park. If you look closely at the grassy pictures, you will see prairie dogs sticking their heads up from their holes. In the park, we saw amazing rocks, stunning views, powerful buffalo (in two different parts of the park), and the main thing we were hoping to see (since we hadn’t seen them on this trip): wild horses (in two different parts of the park).
I took the Paddock Creek signs in honor of our friends, Roger and Marsha, whose last name is “Paddock.”
Scoria is clay-like rock that results from coal fires that burn for years within the rock layers.
The restaurant with the elk and buffalo was where we became buddies with Buffalo Dale and Joey O. The restaurant was one of the many local businesses owned and operated by the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation. This foundation was created by Harold Schafer who was a wealthy local businessman. When he sold his business, he held back the assets in Medora and created the foundation, which has become a core part of the tourism success of the small town.
We toured the Cowboy museum and the many little shops. We also went to the Bully Pulpit play, which was a one-man show about Teddy Roosevelt. The actor was extremely good and the hour just whipped by.
The next group of photos in Medora are from the exquisite golf course, the Bully Pulpit Golf Course. The scenery was fantastic and the holes, especially the back nine, were something to behold. Many of the holes required golfers to hit over canyons and gulches that made the course quite intimidating.
Medora was founded by a man from France named the Marquis de Mores. Although he only lived there for three years in the 1800s, his 26-room home is still standing and is open to the public.
The Joey O Comedy Golf Show is a nationally-known show. He has even performed on the Tonight Show, at the Bob Hope Classic, and in San Antonio with the Spurs’ mascot, the Coyote—as well as in many other places. As you can see from the photos, he shoots a lot of trick shots. Each shot is a nearly-straight 250 to 280 yard drive—whether he is standing on the ground, on a ball, or on a unicycle. Since Roger was already his buddy from meeting him at lunch and then again while we were playing golf at the Bully Pulpit course, Joey invited Roger to assist him in many of his tricks. Joey weighs about 125 pounds and stands about 5’4” tall. Interestingly, he makes his living demonstrating golf trick shots, but he never actually plays golf because he doesn’t have the time.
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