I-94 makes its way out of the Badlands with long curves towards the prairie. Fields begin to take up the space as it opens, the land becoming flatter and flatter going eastward. There were more semis on the road today, evidence of the health of the western ND oil boom … and the fact that we were on the Interstate
On our way out of Medora we drove a short distance of the 36 mile road through Theodore Roosevelt National Park, stopping at one of the prairie dog towns and at a secnic outlook. The Badlands remind me of terrain in science fiction movies. It is rugged, barren, and extremely unique.
A dozen Burning Hills Singer perform country songs at the outdoor Burning Hills Amphitheatre, that seats over 2,800. The facility is stunning, requiring a long drive uphill and an escalator down the side of a hill to the seating area. The Old West facade and live country band are the backdrop for the 90 minute performance. The singers are led
Medora is nine square blocks sporting the tag lane “North Dakota’s #1 vacation” to which I say Medora is North Dakota’s only vacation destination. It’s also home to Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Our first stop was the Chateau de Mores State Historic Site. The chateau was built in the 1880’s by the Marquis de Mores and his wife as a
Just north of Deadwood is Belle Fourche, the geographical center of America. In my quest for these geographic places I was surprised since I thought the geographic center was in Kansas. The sign explains that the geographical center of the 48 states is in Kansas and after Hawaii and Alaska were admitted, a recalculation by NOAA designated the geographic center
As we left Deadwood we made a list of our reflections – one word, phrases, or general impressions. Liked it better as time went on – first impression was “tacky” Loved the old buildings Public library needs a new microfilm reader Friendly Steeped in history Pedestrian friendly Safe Biker friendly (no helmet law in SD)
Mom and I took the one-hour bus tour of Deadwood and the Mount Moriah Cemetery. We learned about the history of Deadwood from the tour guide/bus driver, beginning with the broken treaty between the US government and the Native Americans and chronicaling the wild and lawlessness of Deadwood. When gold was discovered the town exploded with prospectors, saloons, outlaws and
Custer is a tiny little town with about 2,000 people. In the days of the gold rush, Custer had as many as 10,000 people. The downtown is just three or four blocks long with two Trading Posts, a few tourist shops, grocery store, a Frontier photo place, and a fabulous pie place called The Purple Pie Place. I had a
About 17 miles from Mount Rushmore is the Crazy Horse Memorial. It claims to be the World’s Largest Mountain Carving. When (if) finished Crazy Horse will stand 641 feet long and 563 high. Currently, the face is finished and what will be his arm is roughed out. The native American Education and Cultural Center is large and includes a 20
We made our way through the gorgeous windy Ponderosa lined roads to Mount Rushmore. The faces are visable as soon as you come around a bend and my first thought was “Huh. They are whiter than the surrounding rock”. Then, “they seem smaller than I thought they would be”. As we got closer and closer the magnitude of this project,