NORTH DAKOTA

I arrived in Medora, North Dakota on Labor Day Weekend, staying a week at Medora Campground, right next to the entrance to Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The town itself is an adorable little tourist attraction, with shops and restaurants located in Old West-style buildings. Stand-out facts about Medora are that it covers less than 1/2 square mile, has no traffic lights, and boasts four ice cream parlors.

Boots Bar & Grill was my hangout during my stay in Medora. I had dinner there before attending the Medora Musical, a local entertainment spectacular. I ordered my usual bourbon and ginger ale with my awesome hamburger and when I returned after the show for a nightcap, the bartender remembered what I was drinking and poured it as soon as I sat down. Lucky me, I sat down next to four young, handsome cowboys and we had a wonderful time chatting for the rest of the evening. I told them I had just come from Montana and I spend a great deal of time in Texas so I know cowboys when I see them but they were quick to tell me that North Dakota cowboys are the only “real” cowboys.

My site at Medora Campground outside Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

The lovely little town of Medora, North Dakota nestled against the badlands.

The local trail ride passes through downtown before entering the park.

Boots Bar & Grill was my hangout during my stay in Medora.

My bartender at Boots Bar & Grill.

I met this group of cowboys at the bar.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

This area of western North Dakota is the same type of “badlands” geology as the more famous spot in South Dakota. Before becoming president, Teddy Roosevelt owned a cattle ranch in this rugged landscape and he credited his experiences here for his passion for conservation. As president, he created the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service. The park was created in 1947 to honor President Roosevelt.

The park is divided into three separate locations: North Unit and South Unit are 68 miles apart and in between them is Elkhorn Ranch, Roosevelt’s home, although there are no buildings remaining and I did not visit this part of the park. The South Unit is the larger and main attraction of the park with its entrance in Medora. There is a 36-mile scenic loop road as well as hiking and horse trails. The scenery is spectacular with numerous opportunities to see buffalo, deer, antelope, and the ever-entertaining prairie dogs. The North Unit has a 14-mile drive that requires a turn-around and return by the same route.

South Unit:

North Dakota Badlands in Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

Remnants of an old ranch inside the park.

Prairie dogs

This prairie dog is signaling others that I may be a potential threat.

Mule deer

Pronghorn antelope

Dusk in the badlands.

Sunset in the park.

North Unit:

The Little Missouri River winds its way through both units of the park but is best seen in the North Unit.

The North Unit has more of the “badlands” geology.

Medora Musical

A must-see attraction here is Medora Musical, which shows every evening at sunset between mid-June and mid-September in an open-air amphitheater. This is a musical review show with singing and dancing surrounding the core story of Teddy Roosevelt’s life and times here in the Medora area. The night I was here I was treated to a pretty sunset as well as the rising full moon. What a treat!

The setting for the stage with the badlands hills as a backdrop.

There’s lots of country music in the show.

Singing and dancing is the strong point of this musical review show.

At sunset, Teddy appears on the hill behind the stage and makes his way down on horseback.

The show is primarily about the life of Teddy Roosevelt, who lived here for some time and visited often throughout his life.

The show ends with a nice fireworks display.

WYOMING

On September 9, I moved to Devil’s Tower, Wyoming. There’s a KOA campground conveniently located right at the entrance to the park and they show “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” every night at dusk in an outdoor setting with the tower in the background. This movie is a favorite of mine and I hadn’t seen it in years so this was a real treat.

In a related story: When I was in college a few years before the movie came out, I had an assignment to do a charcoal sketch. I don’t recall the exact subject matter but I chose to draw Devil’s Tower from a photograph my father had taken on one of our family trips out west. Then, in 1977 the movie came out and Devil’s Tower had a prominent role with people compelled by an unknown force to seek it out. Richard Dreyfuss’s character even carves it out of mashed potatoes and later makes a huge model in his living room. I brought my large sketch (about 20″x30″) to my office at the Monmouth County (NJ) Park System and hung it on the wall where it became quite the conversation piece. Unfortunately, I no longer have any of my artwork from early years as photography took over my creative interest since college.

There’s a $25 entry fee to Devil’s Tower National Monument but my lifetime senior pass go me in for free. A scenic drive took me half way around to the far side and offered several nice views of the tower along the way. From the parking area, I picked up a paved path that completely circles the base and took about an hour to walk with frequent stops for photos.

Devil’s Tower/Black Hills KOA offers great views of the tower.

The campground shows “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” every evening with the tower as a backdrop.

The view was often obscured by smoke from the western wildfires.

About 30 miles from Devil’s Tower is the town of Sundance, Wyoming where Sundance Kid got his name. Apparently, this was the first place he served time in jail and afterwards people referred to him as the kid from Sundance. There’s a museum in town but it was closed when I was here.

The town of Sundance, Wyoming capitalizes on its connection to Sundance Kid.

Sundance, Wyoming is big rig friendly with parking down the center of the street.

While in Sundance, I had lunch in the Longhorn Saloon where I met Dave, a traveling salesman of handmade pocket knives. Dave spends so much time on the road that he lives in a Dodge Caravan. We compared notes on the nomad lifestyle.

This interesting camper pulled in next to me and I was fascinated in how it works. It’s a bumper-pull trailer that has a low profile while towing and raises up to full height when in use. Sort of like the slide-outs on my trailer only vertical instead of horizontal. Even more interesting was that we met again at my next campground in the Badlands and from there, we both went to Custer, South Dakota but to different campgrounds.

SOUTH DAKOTA

Badlands

My next stop was Badlands/White River KOA, just outside Badlands National Park in western South Dakota. I stayed here a week, making several visits to the park and a trip to the famous Wall Drug whose signs can be seen every mile on the interstate for the entire length of the state. As I stated before, there is badlands geology in other states but this park is the best and most breath-taking example of this unique landscape. As I approached from the north, I was driving on typical Great Plains flat grassland when suddenly, the ground drops away to reveal the rugged beauty created by millions of years of erosion of the sandstone and limestone. It’s quite dramatic!

My site at Badlands/White River KOA in Interior, South Dakota.

Click on image to watch a video that shows the dramatic drop-off from flat grassland to the rocky terrain below.

Big Horn Sheep are amazingly agile on steep cliffs.

Visiting the park late in the day offers a dramatic change in color.

Sunset and a crescent moon.

A glimpse of the Milky Way.

I often offer to take photos for others and in talking to this couple I discovered we had a friend in common. They’re from Bartlett, New Hampshire where several years ago, I did a photo shoot with an ambulance for my employer’s calendar. I got to know my host, Rick, pretty well and later, when visiting the area in my retirement travels, I stayed overnight at his firehouse in my motorhome and we had dinner together. Collin (the man in this photo) knows Rick from working at the local hospital emergency room. I texted this photo to Rick who couldn’t believe the coincidence. My world gets smaller every day!

I met Collin and his wife by offering to take their photo in Badlands National Park.

The famous Wall Drug Store is a tourist attraction that started in the 1930s as a stop for weary travelers on the highway where you could get (and still can) a free glass of water.

Wall Drug Store has grown into a small indoor shopping mall with a variety of vendors. I bought several nice items in the Leather Goods store.

Custer, South Dakota

I spent the last week of September in Custer, South Dakota, staying at the Custer/Mount Rushmore/Black Hills KOA on the main road through town. From this location, I could easily visit Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Memorial, and Custer State Park.

Downtown Custer, South Dakota.

Every street corner has a buffalo sculpture painted by local artists.

Mount Rushmore

Mount Rushmore National Memorial is free except they charge $10 to park. I suppose you could walk there but it would be a long hike. It doesn’t take long to visit because, let’s face it, how long do you need to look at the presidents’ heads on the mountain. However, I wanted to photograph it in different light conditions but didn’t want to pay the parking fee a second time so I came in late afternoon and stayed until dark when the sculpture is lit.

The sculpture faces east and is best viewed in the morning but I got lucky with the late day light.

The sculpture is lit every night at sunset.

The view from the Avenue of Flags where flags from each U.S. state and territory are displayed.

Crazy Horse Memorial

Just a couple miles from Mount Rushmore is the Crazy Horse Memorial, another, much larger rock carving. Lakota Indian Chief Henry Standing Bear commissioned sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski to carve a statue of famed Lakota warrior, Crazy Horse. Ziolkowski moved here with his wife and family in 1947 and worked on the project until his death in 1982. His descendants continue the work today getting their funding from entry fees and donations.

I visited the memorial in the 1960s with my family and there was only the notch in the stone that would become his face and outstretched arm.

Crazy Horse Memorial is larger than Mount Rushmore and has been under construction since 1947.

Custer State Park

Custer State Park was actually the best part of my stay here. A $20 pass is good for up to 7 days and I took advantage of that by making several trips through the park. It takes a couple hours to drive the loop, seeing beautiful landscapes and large herds of buffalo. I learned the week before that this weekend would be the annual buffalo roundup so I was excited that my visit coincided.

The park can only sustain about 1,400 buffalo so every September, the park has local cowboys (and girls) round up about 500 for sale. This event is free to the public but you have to get there early to get a good viewing spot. I left my campground at 5:00 a.m. and followed a long line of cars through the park, arriving at the parking area at 7:00. Around 10:00, we could see the herd being driven over nearby hills and eventually, they raced past the spectators and into the auction pen. I was impressed to see South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem was one of the riders rounding up the buffalo. Noem has been a rancher her entire life.

Buffalo herd in Custer State Park.

Buffalo cause frequent traffic jams.

A little autumn color in Custer State Park.

The Mount Coolodge Looko

Buffalo Roundup

Following the long line of vehicles through Custer State Park at 5:00 a.m. to attend the annual buffalo roundup.

I got to see the sun come up while still waiting in line to reach the parking area.

Click on image to watch a short video of the buffalo roundup.

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem is the rider in the middle.

Wind Cave National Park

Just south of Custer State Park is Wind Cave National Park, which I’d never heard of before but decided to take a drive through so I could check one more national park off my list. It’s not very big and the Visitor Center was closed but it offered some nice scenery and a few buffalo.

 

 

My 575-mile trip through Western Dakotas and the northeast corner of Wyoming.

Next post: Nebraska to New Jersey.

 

My name is Lindsay Reed and I’m a photographer and retired graphic artist with a passion for both lighthouses and road trips. I am living as a full-time solo RVer in my 33 foot Grand Design Reflection Fifth Wheel trailer and plan to spend the next few years traveling the U.S. and Canada photographing not only lighthouses, but everything else there is to see in this wonderful land. I hope you enjoy my blog and will follow my adventures in the months and years ahead.