Masters of RVing Adventures

Current stats:

Number of days/nights: 8 days / 7 nights

Number of campgrounds: 6

Number of miles driven: 1955

Number of states: 9

Number of times eaten out: 0

Number of times I’ve driven Jack: 0

Number of times Mark’s driven Cheeto: 0

Number of campfires: 1

Number of sites seen: 8 (I’m taking a few liberties on how I group & count)

A few days’ highlights –

Yesterday (6/30)

We arrived at our overnight stop, which was a state park right on the Missouri River.

Did you know?

– the expedition lasted almost 2 1/2 years and most people thought they had been killed

– they set out from St. Louis, MO, in 1804, reached the Pacific Northwest, and returned

– the Mighty Mo, which they traversed as far west as the Rocky Mountains of Montana, flows West to East… which means they paddled the whole way against the current as they explored westward

– they spent 146 days at Fort Mandan, ND (which they erected) because they became friendly with the Mandan & Hidatsa Native American tribes, who helped them survive that winter by supplying them food

– Sacagawea traveled with her infant son while assisting Lewis & Clark from Fort Mandan, over the Rockies to the Pacific and back to Fort Mandan

– Merriwether Lewis possibly died by suicide

– brown rats are not native to the Americas but came by ship from Europe (yep that was a little fun tidbit on a display card in the Interpretive Center)

Today (7/1)

We took a sightseeing detour ride down the Enchanted Highway (The link will tell you everything and the photos below are the sculptures we saw.) Personally, I think they were placed here to break up the endless miles of farmland and add a little whimsical side of life to this area during deep winters.

Pheasants on the Prairie / World’s Largest Tin Family

Enchanted Castle Hotel with Knight & Dragon (work in progress)

Fun Facts about ND

– # 1 producer of honey in the nation

– a state holiday is on July 1, called 701 Day for their state area code (and we were in ND on 7/01 to help celebrate!)

– The Badlands lay mostly in South Dakota, but North Dakota also shares part of this territory … and having seen both sides, they are very different. The SD side contain the rugged landscapes filled with hues of browns, tans, oranges, sands, and creams, while the ND side contain lush landscapes covering the full color spectrum of greens. (Photos and more about the ND Badlands further below in the blog.)

– nearly 90% of the land area is farms and ranches

Medora Musical

Our journey for the day ends in the town of Medora. We transition abruptly from rolling prairie and farmland to the Badlands of craggy mountains, albeit still covered in green. We also encounter more people in this town than we have the entire trip across North Dakota! Medora is located in the southwest corner of the state and is a thriving tourist town. It also houses the entrance to Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The locals are very big fans of our nation’s 26th President and have found unique ways to commercialize his legacy, including teddy bears and Rough Riders’ gear.

The Medora Musical is the big event for this evening. Apparently, it is in its 60th year and the cast take pride in that every year the show is different, so as to continue to attract “locals” (considering the distance between towns, “local” is a loose term) from ND and neighboring MT and Canada. Tonight’s performance marks the first time since 2019 they’ve held a Monday night show (remember 701 Day celebrations?). Sold out event, they tell us as we pick up the tickets I pre-ordered months ago. The outdoor theater holds almost 3000 folks.

Not really knowing what all I was pre-purchasing at the time, I included the pre-show meal… Pitchfork Steak Fondue…besides Mark calling it a “$50 outdoor steak buffet with an incredible view,” the name does describe the meal. They used pitchforks as fondue forks to spear steaks and hold them in huge vats of oil to cook. Surprisingly, they were quite tasty! However, the metal lunchroom tray they were served on lost part of the panache of the meal.