July 2 - Medora, North Dakota
Pitchfork Fondue! Check in post above for more pictures.
This little town is beautiful. It's in an area of North Dakota known as the Badlands, but this is nothing like the South Dakota Badlands. These badlands are painted bluffs, and much prettier to look at!
Medora had a very nice benefactor, the owner of Gold Seal, give them lots of money to spruce up the town and make it into a tourist destination. He died a few years ago, but his widow still lives here, and we met her. She's a real character, passionate about the town, and a strong supporter of the Medora Musical, which also draws hundreds of people every night. We sat near her at the musical last night, and she knew all of the workers by sight and name. She is so proud of all of them. I talked with a couple of the young workers at the musical and other venues around town. Most of them are employed by the Roosevelt Medora Foundation, and they all seem to love their jobs and it shows in how they treat the tourists. I think this is largely due to the ideals of the foundation. One young worker told me they pay $3.50 a day for a room, but get half of that back if they're good!.Most of them had worked there for many summers.
There have been many other individuals who have given the town money to keep it going. It is famous for being a favorite hangout of Teddy Roosevelt, and many of the buildings were used by him, and have names associated with him (RoughRiders bar, Bully Pulpit Golf, Theodore's.) In the winter there are only about 200 residents, but from late spring to early fall, they are a booming city. The buildings have been preserved and/or built to retain the western flavor. They have boardwalks instead of sidewalks.
The musical and the Pitchfork fondue dinner take place on a picturesque bluff overlooking the town and its surroundings. It was an incredible , indescribable, view from there in all directions. Between dinner and the musical we were entertained by two large elk grazing on the hill.
Our dinner was pitchfork fondue – steaks skewered on a pitchfork and deep fried in hot oil for about 4 minutes. Each pitchfork held about 10 steaks, which were cooked and then handed out to the diners. We also had lots of salads, potatoes, beans, dessert and drinks! It was great fun as we sat at outdoor picnic tables admiring the view!
The musical has been going on for 45 years in a beautiful amphitheater build into the side of a bluff. The escalators that take you down go down the length of 7 stories. The musical was fun – full of jokes, dancing, great songs, and beautiful sets. Among other things it tells the history of the town and a little bit about Theodore Roosevelt's connection to the town. It shows the Roughriders in battle and compares those men to today's men and women in the armed forces. Again Bob and other vets were asked to stand and be honored. We really enjoyed the evening,
Earlier in the afternoon as we were parked in town, a couple was admiring our RV so we gave them a tour. We talked to them about 20 minutes and found out that they are grain harvesters in Fargo, ND. They invited us to come visit them, and even offered Bob a job if he could come out in six weeks! So if we've run out of money by then, he might take them up on the offer!
We also toured Theodore Roosevelt's National Park for a while. It consists of painted bluffs and scrub brush. We saw lots of prairie dogs and some wild horses, but didn't stay long as we wanted to head to Montana.