The Dakotas
NP Roadtrip – The Dakotas – Days 137 – 141
We left Minnesota, leaving the tick nightmare in our rear view mirror, and drove 566 miles in one day to get to Medora, North Dakota. It was a LONG day of driving for G with a little bit of rain, a little bit of thunder, and a lot of lightning. I heated up breakfast burritos to start us off on the right foot for the long journey, and prepared road sandwiches for lunch, but by the time we got to Bismark, we were starving. It was POURING down rain and we couldn’t find a place to park. The only place that sounded up our alley (and open) was Fireflour, a local pizza spot with a few tables. After driving around several city blocks 3 or 4 times, we finally found a parking space down the street and walked in the pouring rain to the restaurant. We looked like wet mops when we walked in…and it was packed. The 4-some in front of us were told it was a 45 minute wait, but thankfully our party of 2 was seated right away. Fireflour has a great menu and all, but the real showstopper is the $9 bottomless wine. NINE. Dollars. They bring it to you in a carafe with a little glass so you can pour at your whim. Before the food even hits the table ,Fireflour already has a special place in my heart! We met a great group of gals having Girls Night Out there, so here is my shout out to Amy, Hillary, and Ann. Thank you for your awesome company and excitement surrounding our trip and the recommendation to go to Sun Brewery next door. We hope you enjoyed our drive-by send off down 5th Street! We tried to get the dogs to throw some beads your way, but they just don’t listen that well.
We stayed in the Medora Campground for 3 days. This campground is nice, but I would have loved to stay inside the park. Medora is very touristy and very much geared toward families with young children. The campgrounds inside the park were more secluded and quiet and right up our alley. However, we were worried that we would be skunked by the first come first served system in the park so we felt compelled to secure a reservation in Medora.
Our first morning in North Dakota, we noticed that the Alto battery wasn’t charging. Scratching our heads, we (and by WE, I mean G) tore apart the electrical components, unscrewed covers, cursed a bit. Then, after much time and frustration, G finally figured out that when we had the trailer serviced by Safari Condo in Quebec, they neglected to plug the battery charger back into the electrical panel. Can anything ever go completely smooth with no issues? Apparently not. Perhaps we should rename Murphy to Buster or Buddy or Chester. Having a dog with the name “Murphy” makes me think we suffer from Murphy’s Law more often than the average folk. But he's so dang cute, right?
Once the battery mystery was solved, we grabbed a “meh” late breakfast at Farmhouse Café. It was only 3 weeks old and definitely needed some tweaks. We were greeted with, “we can’t even take your order for 30 minutes”. Well, ok then! Hopefully with time, their service gets better and faster, and the food more consistent and tasty.
By noon, we finally made it into the South Unit of Teddy Roosevelt National Park. We saw tons of funny prairie dogs and a few bison. We even saw a huge snake in the road, though I have a hard time believing it was still alive. The drive around the park is fairly short with lots of pullouts to view the active prairie dog towns and scope out other wildlife. It’s also really, really stunning. There are canyons, hills, grasslands, and scenic vistas. We had the dogs with us, so we weren’t able do any hiking, but we got out a lot to take in the scenery and stretch our legs. We rounded out the day with a visit to the Painted Canyon Visitor Center, shared an early (and forgettable) dinner at Badlands Pizza & Saloon, then went over to Boot’s Bar & Grill looking for a nightcap. While taking a look around the restaurant to figure out where to sit, we nearly missed that Big Buck Hunter HD (fun video game, lots of fake hunting of digital animals) was hiding in the corner. It seemed to radiate a “come hither” pull in our direction. Like moths to a flame, we felt compelled to play the game. We play it on occasion in Portland, and it’s a fun way to pass the time with friends. I’m not that good at it, but I enjoy playing a few games here and there. For the record, I do not actually hunt real animals, have never hunted, and will never hunt. Unless you consider swatting mosquitoes “hunting”. I kill an awful lot of flying bugs in the trailer, so perhaps you can consider me an accomplished marksman.
After G kicked my butt again at Big Buck (for the 457th time), we pulled into the campground and there it was. BAM! Right across from our campsite we spotted our first official Safari Alto “in the wild”. We both squealed. With only 1100 (give or take a few) Altos in the ENTIRE world, it’s pretty spectacular to have another person at your campground that knows exactly what you go through on a daily basis. The stares, the questions, the assumptions. All of it. They know! We introduced ourselves, chatted a bit, and called it a night.
The next day, after heating up a few kitchen sink breakfast burritos, we drove to the North Unit of Teddy Roosevelt National Park. Both areas are beautiful, but the North Unit is really special because there are far less people. There are expansive vistas, lots of pullouts, and some great hikes. You might even see a prairie dog or two. I would recommend driving through the National Grasslands on the way there or back, if you have the time. We found an awesome and secluded picnic site situated off the rutted dirt road called Whitetail Picnic Area. I only wish we had packed a lunch. We ended up grabbing a very quick bite at Trapper’s Kettle in Belfield. Upon walking in the restaurant and scoping out the menu, I immediately had a firestorm of déjà vu memories in my brain. Everything from the fried scones (that aren’t listed as fried on the menu, but I just KNEW they were fried) to the salad bar, from the skillet lunches to the awesome sandwiches. All of these things SCREAMED my family’s truck stop restaurant, The Muleteer, before it switched over to The Cookery in the late 90s. Andre Agassi was even interviewed there as part of a 60 Minutes segment, and declared it one of his favorite spots in Las Vegas (probably because no one bothered him there). We all loved The Muleteer and were sad to see it go, so when I found a “revival” restaurant in North Dakota, it warmed my heart.
We rested a bit at camp, then showered for our big night out at the Cowboy Cookout and Medora Musical. The musical is just one of those things that you have to do, but honestly much more enjoyable if you have young children. The Cowboy Cookout offered decent food, good selection of sides, and a beautiful setting; though if you are looking for gourmet, you’ll have to look a little further West! Like…WAYYYYY out west! It’s down-home country cooking, simple, crowd pleasing food. We don’t eat beef, which I thought would be a bit of an issue, but they even had a “no beef” option, which was great! After dinner, we walked over to the outdoor theater to watch the show. The musical portrays the history of the area, has a few silly laughs, actual horses on stage, LOTS of singing and dancing, and a very talented live band. By the time it was finished, it was well past our bedtime, and we were lulled to sleep dreaming of our night at the musical. If we are ever in Medora again, we’ll make a point to go to the Gospel Brunch in downtown Medora. It’s put on by the same company, and even has many of the same performers, but it seems more geared toward the adult crowd. AND… there are mimosas.
My beloved grandmother was born and raised in New England, North Dakota, which is less than an hour from Medora and happens to be “sort of on the way” to the Badlands, our next stopping point. This is one of the few “sort of on the way” spots that G was more than happy to oblige. We all loved my Grandmother, gone way too soon, and it was a joy for both G and I to see the area where she grew up. I hadn’t prepared to go to New England so we weren’t exactly sure where we were going to see any family history. A few texts and a phone call with my Dad at least set us going down the correct road, though there wasn’t a whole lot to see. It was awesome just to be able to be in the area where she was born and lived, to see the sights she woke up to see with her own eyes each and every day. We continued down the road where the old farmstead was located, through the main town, and then headed on our way to the Badlands of South Dakota.
North Dakota and South Dakota are both beautiful. Rolling green hills of farmland bordered with bright blue sky span the landscape for hundreds of miles. Only when you get near the Badlands do you see a dramatic change in the landscape. I have to admit that I didn’t do much research into the Badlands. We were told (and for the life of us, we can’t remember by whom) that the Badlands were underwhelming and were a “drive-thru” park. Based on this advice, we planned on exploring the park the afternoon of our arrival, trying to get a first come first serve campsite in the park, then drive through the park the following day headed to Mt. Rushmore. The campground ended up being full, so we fulfilled a pre-arranged “just in case” reservation at the KOA south of the park. We set up camp and immediately left to explore the park road. The sun was slowly setting and we had a great time checking out the wildlife in the early evening hours when they are active and eating. We saw bison, big horned sheep, prairie dogs (they are seemingly ALWAYS active; day and night!), various birds, etc. I can assure you that the Badlands are definitely NOT a drive-thru park, and at least 2 days of exploring should be sufficient. It’s gorgeous, dramatic, and there is lots of wildlife to see.
Sidenote: On the way into the Badlands, you can’t miss all the signs for Wall Drug. We were intrigued, as I’m sure you will be too. Wall Drug was a failing roadside stop, until they started serving free ice water to passing motorists. A hit was made, and they’ve expanded their footprint ever since. Between you and I and the fencepost, this place is a glorified souvenir shop that isn’t worth a stop, even if you give me free ice water. Now I know, and now you do too. You’re welcome.
The following morning we drove through the Stronghold Unit of the Badlands. On the park maps (and in our previously very reliable national park guide), this road is listed as unpaved. We braved it anyway and guess what?!?! It’s PAVED. We flew through this area of the park and got to Wind Cave National Park earlier than expected. I made lunch in the parking lot at the visitor center while G figured out whether or not he could take a cave tour. Why not me too? In short, I am done with cave tours. I think I’ve said this before, but in case I haven’t: I have a very slight claustrophobia that started as a tiny kernel as a teenager after a scary avalanche dream then expanded in 2008 while I was a passenger in a car driving the Sydney Harbor Tunnel. Ever since then, I’ve had an aversion to long tunnels, bridges, and enclosed spaces. I’ll do it, and I’ll be totally cool about it from the outside, but I don’t have to like it and just know that on the inside I’m absolutely dying. I’ve now seen what I consider to be the most amazing cave in the United States at Carlsbad Cavern National Park TWICE, and have since hung up my spelunking gear for good.
Unfortunately for G, he wasn’t able to take a cave tour that day due to the timing of the tours and our arrival in the park, but we ended up loving the scenery at Wind Cave National Park so much that we were very sad we weren’t staying the night. The bright green hills set against the cheeriest blue sky you’ve ever seen. Spectacularly beautiful and the biggest “surprise” delight of our trip. We ventured north into Custer State Park, which is also gorgeous and one we will visit again. The ranger gave us some specifications for the narrow tunnels in the park, so we ended up avoiding them altogether rather than literally being stuck between a rock and a hard place. Though I do think we would have been just fine, learning a little later that some of our Instagram friends had zero issues getting around the park with their trailer.
We also made time in the afternoon to check out Mount Rushmore, Sturgis, and Deadwood. Obviously Mount Rushmore is amazing to see in person, but not a spot that requires a lot of time. You pay to park, you walk up, you take your picture, you leave. It’s well worth it though, at least once in your life. On the other hand, Sturgis is not well worth it unless you are an extreme motorcycle enthusiast and want to see the places made famous by the annual rally hosted here. We stopped for 2.5 seconds, and that was plenty of time for us. Lastly, I’ll tell you a little bit about Deadwood. Have I mentioned I lived in Las Vegas for most of my life? I had no idea that Deadwood was a small mountain town version of Las Vegas, but nowhere near as entertaining or fun. We pulled into town, not knowing what we were getting ourselves into. ALL the streets in the downtown area were closed off, there was a stage set up on Main Street, and people were roaming the streets with open containers. As it turns out there was some kind of music festival going on. We didn’t stay long enough for the main act (and for the life of me I can’t remember who the main act was), but the band we did catch was pretty decent. After a long day of exploring 2 national parks, a state park, a national monument, and two tourist trap towns, we decided it was time to call it a night. We rolled in to the awesome Spearfish KOA, made dinner, enjoyed a small campfire, and called it a night
