Listing Through Life

In the afternoon we drove up to the North Unit. We drove the entire length of the road to the Oxbow Overlook, where we got out and enjoyed the view of the Little Missouri River Valley. Again, I took many of these photos out the car window, and I’m not sure where in the park I was.

We walked the Caprock Coulee Trail for about a mile.

The park maintains a small herd of longhorns as a “historic demonstration.”

There had been quite a few other cars on the roads in the South Unit, especially toward the end of the time we were there. But the North Unit was almost empty.

The North Dakota Badlands cover a much larger area than the South Dakota Badlands. Both badlands are impressive, but while those in South Dakota are more dramatic and threatening, those in North Dakota have more vegetation and are prettier.

As part of our package deal, we got $40 gift cards that could be used anywhere in Medora. After breakfast, we had $20-some dollars left. The ladies volunteered to spend it in some of the stores in town.

While they shopped, we men wandered about. We bought pops at the Joe Ferris General Store, stopped in the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame and decided it was too pricey for the amount of time we had at hand (one hour), then went to two museums.

The first was dedicated to Harold Schafer, the Mr. Bubble guy who put Medora back on the map.

Here’s Schafer’s car.

We didn’t stay long because, again, we had only an hour and the badlands beckoned.

Next we visited the Von Hoffman home, built by Marquis de Mores for his in-laws. Medora’s father may have stayed there once, but there’s no record that her mother ever visited town.

The house has only recently been turned into a museum — it used to be a doll store. Nothing is original, which isn’t surprising since the owner’s were never there. The rooms are filled with period pieces. The upstairs has a few interesting displays on Roosevelt and his time in the area.

I asked the woman who greeted us at the door if I could take photos. She said she wasn’t sure. I was the second person who had asked her, and she told the first guy OK. I asked if she wanted to tell me no so shed know she’d been right at least half the time. It sounds snarky, but I said it nicely. I think she expected me to be taking photos like these.

Which I obviously did. But I also took photos like this …

Which she probably wouldn’t have understood anyway. We browsed in a bookstore, then met the wives. They had managed to spend all the remaining money on the gift cards. When my wife purchased one item, she was told she could have a free wooden pen with Medora and somebody’s name etched into the barrel. They didn’t have any of our names, so they got the next most obvious one — Steve. (If you’ve been paying attention to previous posts, you’ll get it.) We bought snacks and headed up to the North Unit.

We drove the Scenic Loop Drive around the South Unit of the park in the morning. I was in the back seat and concentrating on looking for stuff, so I was never very sure of where we were. Some of these photos I took through the car window. So here, in no order whatsoever, is what I saw.

Having said that, I think the first two were taken on Friday afternoon at the Painted Canyon Visitor Center.

We got out of the car once to walk the Ridgeline Trail.

Bison bull at rest. We only saw this one and one other much further off in the South Unit.

One of two Coyotes we saw ambling up a hillside.

This Pronghorn came dashing down a draw, not at full-out panic speed, but not dawdling either. I snapped a bunch of photos of it as it dashed past. These two came out best.

Apparently, our friends have seen a life-time supply of Prairie Dogs, so they were  happy to discover that we didn’t have a particular fixation with them. I played the video of the prairie dog calling for Allen over and over an over until he realizes it’s not Allen he’s looking at, but Steve. At which point he begins calling for Steve repeatedly. This became a running joke as we passed several prairie dog towns.

I set my alarm for early Saturday morning and set forth to explore Medora. I was the only one. I could have lit a bonfire in the middle of an intersection and nobody would have noticed.

Here’s our hotel.

Here’s the remains of de Mores’ meat-packing plant.

And another shot facing the sun.

In the next hour, I covered pretty much every street in town. This statue is outside the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame.

Across the street is the Joe Ferris General Store. Roosevelt stayed upstairs upon occasion. We bought bottles of pop downstairs later in the day.

The view down Third Avenue (there are only eight streets in town) at sunrise.

All of Medora from Pacific Avenue. You can look outside town on both ends.

I went back to the motel and showered and met up with the others. We went to Rough Riders Hotel for breakfast. I ordered Custer’s Last Sandwich, which had eggs, hash-browns, cheese, onions and bacon on Texas toast, and which might explain why Custer was moving slow that day. But it was tasty.

As for Medora, it plays up its reputation as a historic town with a great deal of gusto. There are signs all over the place giving its history. Which goes something like this …

Theodore Roosevelt and the Marquis de Mores came here and tried to ranch and failed and left. And then nothing happened for 80 years until a businessman named Harold Schafer (who started the Gold Seal Company which made Mr. Bubble bubble bath) bought up some of the old buildings in town and turned it into the attraction it is today. And though I jest, it is a very pleasant little town in a very pleasant corner of the world.