My husband's parents passed away within a year of each other. It was pretty devastating for us. Not only did we have to go through an entire estate that was crammed full of memories of two generations going back to the 1940s, but it was a year of our life traveling an hour and a half away to do so. We didn’t get closure and sell the estate until 2018, two years after his mom’s death.
I loved my in-laws; it's a rarity. They were lovers of hiking when they were younger and visiting State and National Parks. As we received an inheritance, we decided what better way to commemorate them than to invest in a camper and spend time with our family hiking and in nature visiting the parks.
Little did we know, covid was coming, and the investment in a camper would be so worth it! When planning our trips out that year, I felt we shouldn’t plan on flying anywhere with our kids for some reason. My intuition paid off in spades. We planned this 8-hour road trip to Medora, North Dakota, for a week-long respite in August. It worked out perfectly with the pandemic. While most of the world still quarantined everyone in masks fervently, Medora was open and accessible. They didn’t even hear anything about a coin shortage, and the locals laughed when I mentioned it. (Now, we did practice our safety; with my chronic illness, I take precautions as needed. Most of everything we attended was outdoors, which was amazing!)
It was one of the first times we used and pulled our camper very far. It was an adventure! My husband, bless his heart, grew up a city boy. He only had the chance to pull anything or even own a truck once he married this small-town girl! We trekked across North Dakota, past Fargo- the edge of the world as we know it, and into the vast, unknown plains of barren farmland.
We stopped for gas and a break at the iconic town of New Salem. You can trek up a hill to a giant statue of the World’s giant Holstein cow named Salem Sue. She was built entirely out of fiberglass and was erected in 1974. I remember standing under her when I was five on a trip to the Dakotas with my family. It was a joy to bring my boys to touch her utters. They found it was titillating and cracked quite a few jokes. We were almost at Medora by this point.
Once we reached Dickinson, the topography suddenly changed, and the badlands of North Dakota came into view. Small hills of rust, gold, blues, browns, and terra cotta hues dotted the skyline around us. It was breathtakingly beautiful. The fields were gone, and the air became so light. The oppressive humidity had vanished behind us, and so did my arthritis. I was free!
Medora. It is the hidden gem of North Dakota. We rolled down into the valley of the cutest little tourist town named Medora. There were cowboys and horses, boot shops, and leather everywhere. We found the town campground on the far end of town. It was quaint, rustic, but clean. Dusty but orderly. It is the gateway to Theodore Roosevelt National Park. We parked our camper and looked around. There were campers and RVs from all over the country. They had full hook-up for campers, and in the August heat, using our AC was necessary!
We met our neighbors and had drinks together one night. They were from Michigan. It was such a great conversation time in our lawn chairs, staring out at the badland horizon as the sunset. It was mesmerizing.
The bathhouse was kept clean and supplied. The “general store” of the campground had a few supplies and fire starters along with wood for making fires, as most campgrounds offer. There is another small convenience store in the town of Medora for groceries. Another accommodation option besides bringing your camper or RV is pitching a tent if you wanted, or they also had these cute little wagon-type structures you could rent to stay in.
Even though we were by the busy highway not far away, I never heard the traffic. A hidden little trail led to the Little Missouri River behind the campground. It was the backdrop of our fantastic view of the walls of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. We would meander to the river and skip rocks when we had downtime.
Some great activities around Medora include horseback riding through the Badlands, attending an outdoor steak fondue before the Medora Musical, and hiking/ driving through Theodore Roosevelt National Park. If you are like me and love photography, the park is a great place to take wildlife photos.
The miniature golf is one of the best around! It is well-kept and very educational, based on the town's history and the area. Tour Chateau de Mores- the town proprietor's home and learn how Medora started. Tour the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame or play a round of golf at Bully Pulpit Golf Course. Tour the County Court House, see one of many Theodore Roosevelt Shows at the Old Town Hall Theatre, and visit nearby local rodeos. These are just a few more ideas we did the week we visited Medora with our boys.
All in all, Medora was a great vacation during a really hard time for our world. When national pride felt dead and in conflict all across our country, we felt the pride and patriotism alive in Medora. Medora would be an excellent place to visit if you love arid climates, the history of our 26th President, Theodore Roosevelt, horses, prairie dogs, buffalo, and wide open spaces!