Many years ago when our family was traveling to Montana to visit relatives we camped for a night on the edge of the North Dakota Badlands near the frontier town of Medora.

We spent part of the day exploring the old town and were reminded that Teddy Roosevelt spent his early years in Medora and that experience left a lasting impression on his life. His life successes can be partially attributed to those years he spent being a cowboy and rancher in those beautiful and rugged North Dakota Badlands.

I remember leaving the campground those many years ago feeling that I was leaving some unfinished business. We did not have time to take in the Medora musical that had been performed in a theater carved out of the Badland rock just a stones throw away from the town of Medora.

So this spring when our son suggested that we take a weekend trip to Medora and take in the Medora musical I was ecstatic! It turned out to be a special summer for the musical too as it was their 60th year of entertaining the Medora tourists.

Trying to get our complete family together for such an event was of course an impossible task. But we did manage to get eleven of the sixteen family members free on the same weekend. We missed those who couldn’t attend but still managed to  have a great time.

Some folks complain about the trip across North Dakota being…..how shall I say it?  Using a teenager’s vocabulary the word “boring” comes to mind. But for an old biology teacher like myself the trip is anything but boring.

To illustrate my enjoyment of trips out west I think of the set of slides I still have stored away in one of my slide boxes. Years ago in an attempt to capture the change of the topography and plant varieties on that long stretch of Interstate 94 from Fargo to Billings I actually stopped every fifty or sixty miles and took a slide picture. I now have a set of slides that I can view the environmental changes that occur along those 600 miles of interstate. Now if I only had a slide projector I’d curl up some blizzardy winter day and review that trip. 🙂

I wonder if our three children still remember those fifty mile interruptions in travel as I stopped to take a picture. They were probably muttering “boring, boring” all the way to Fargo but my mind has blanked it out. Sometimes when dealing with teenagers that is the best solution.

This weekend we made an extra stop to give grandchildren and even possibly a few adults time to stretch their legs and lessen the chance that the word ‘boring’ would begin to surface. For years we have driven by the giant Holstein cow overlooking the town of New Salem. I didn’t realize there is a gravel road that climbs the hill and leads to a parking lot just below the huge thirty-eight foot tall statue.

Having grown up on a farm where milking cows by hand was one of my jobs I was fascinated by the size of the milking utensils on that cow…..’udderly’ fascinated! 🙂

If it had been milking time I would have needed a tall ladder to reach those four milk nozzles and also a large stainless steel truck to hold the milk.

The ‘Holstein stop’ was good for the morale and stiff limbs and everyone cheerfully climbed back into the vehicles and prepared to complete the final leg of the journey.

As I sat in the front seat staring out as the prairie vegetation moved swiftly past the side window I smiled about something I had read on the giant cow’s information sign. It seems the school in the town of New Salem have the Holstein as their  school mascot. I bet neighboring schools during the fall football season have fun with that mascot name when New Salem is their opponent for their homecoming football game. Can you imagine the slogans that might appear on the class floats that parade down the opponents main street? “Cream the Holsteins!” “Udderly destroy the Holsteins!” “Herd it’s a loser!” 🙂

Before we knew it we were approaching the Medora turn off. As we drove up to the ticket office to purchase our park entrance sticker I received a pleasant surprise. Since I was the oldest person in the vehicle and handed the young lady a twenty dollar bill she handed me a plastic card that allowed Kathie and I to visit any Federal Park in the U.S. absolutely free for one year! As winter approaches that free pass may allow us to escape Minnesota and venture to Federal Parks where below zero temperatures aren’t an issue. 🙂

The day was filled with activity. We drove the big loop in the park that allowed us to see the Bad Lands up close and personal. We stopped at a variety of sites that required climbing many steps and hilly paths but the result was always a beautiful view at the end of each climb.

Several of the grandkids made us a little nervous as they climbed to the highest peaks. They were fearless. In my mind I can still see the one grandchild standing on the very top of a narrow rock outcrop and suddenly break into a cheerleading jump, not once, not twice but a variety of times. Had I tried that cheerleading move there would have been a 911 call faster then you could say helicopter! 🙁

We were entertained by the cutest prairie dogs as their colonies marked by hundreds of clay mounds dotted the landscape. Several times we rounded a turn in the road and a giant bull buffalo came into view. Herds of buffalo were visible grazing in the far off grasslands. We approached a group of cars pulled off the road only to discover two wild horses entertaining the onlookers. In fact one exuberant mother was dragging her young child up for a closer view when the park ranger had to chase her off.

Once the road excursion was complete we visited the town of Medora. We walked and walked and walked! We enjoyed live music, stuffed ourselves on Medora pizza and visited many of the air conditioned shops stocked with things tourists couldn’t resist. That explains how I happened to bring home the neatest cowboy hat!

We witnessed the preparation for an outdoor wedding but since we weren’t invited we didn’t hang around for the ceremony.

Finally the time arrived for the real reason that I had come….the Medora Musical. We drove several miles to the theater’s parking lot, got our tickets, rode the neatest escalator down into the theater and settled into our seats.

The music and dancing was awesome. We were entertained by a comedian who was hilarious and he accomplished that by telling only kid friendly jokes. How refreshing it was to laugh at innocent humor. Hey television and movie execs take note! I dare you to emulate the comedian’s same style. We would be a happier world if you did. 🙂

Once the show was over the narrow exit road made for a slow crowd departure. Our son-in-law was prepared as he pulled out a hunk of deer sausage, crackers and cheese and we enjoyed a picnic under the overcast North Dakota skies.

As the final vehicles were departing we made our exit too. That night our beds in Dickinson felt really good and everyone slept well.

The following day it was rise and shine, pig out on the hotel’s continental breakfast and prepare for the long drive home. We waved at the New Salem cow when we passed by and were reminded it had been an ‘udderly’ wonderful weekend!

I just checked the Medora Musical off my bucket list! 🙂

Until next time.