18 Aug
Another beautiful day in Medora ND! This morning we headed downtown with the Thornell's to explore the area. The town is not very large so this was done on foot. A lot of the buildings have been preserved to look like they might have in the late 19th century or early 20th century.
A horse-drawn coach provides a tour of the area for guests.
The Medora Town Hall was built in 1924 and served as an activity center for the town
Rough Rider's Hotel and Dining Room
Around the corner we found the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame with its Center of Western Heritage &Cultures. This facility opened in 2005 and "features a theater, galleries, artifacts and memorabilia devoted to the preservation of culture and heritage".
Some special seating in the theater!
We started in the theater with an informative movie that started right out introducing us to the "Messohippus" which was a prehistoric mini-horse that stood only about 18 inches tall and roamed the North Dakota plains. Throughout the building there are 47 specific areas but in general there were displays and information on anything and everything "cowboy" native American, western migration and life, and rodeo. Here are a few pictures:
Barbed wire information and types.
Unique chair made out of horns.
Old west cattle trails
We saw his relatives yesterday!
Cowboy attire
A pistol used in the TV show "Gunsmoke"
A beautiful collection of rifles and some pistols
Steve Tomac and the rodeo clown
There were displays on different age groups of rodeo competitions including junior high, high school, college, Miss Rodeo competition and the North Dakota Rodeo Association
Another interesting display of horse teeth tools. Apparently as horses are equipped with bits to allow for direction control, it affects their teeth and these tools were used to treat them!
There were many beautiful saddles oin display. I continue to be amazed by the craftsmanship that went into these! Here is just one example.
There was an upstairs section that was dedicated the the Hall of Fame and included many western art figurines on display. The detail was incredible on these!
This was a very interesting visit with great displays and information. I have such great respect for those pioneers who ventured westward and enjoy learning more about that time period!
We continued through town and passed this opening in the buildings with an awesome view of the cliffs to the east.
Down the street further we passed the Billings County Veteran's Memorial which was nicely done. So many places we have visited across the country have created great memorials like this to honor those who have served and given the ultimate sacrifice. It is so nice to see.
On the way back to the campground we stopped at a pub and pizza restaurant for a little liquid refreshment and then to the local gas station/convenience store to have a look inside. There is no grocery store here, so this is the closest we will get. The nearest one is 16 miles away. Luckily we were pretty well stocked leaving Minot.
Later in the day we drove a short distance to where we would be having dinner - the Medora Pitchfork Steak Fondue. Their chefs "load up pitchforks with 12oz steaks and fondue them — western style"! Included with the uniquely-cooked steak is baked potato, cole slaw, veggies, fruit, baked beans, garlic toast, mini-donuts and a brownie. The location is high above the city of Medora so we have a great view of the Badlands!
The huge fondue pots ready for steaks
Pitchforks loaded with steaks ready to cook
The dining area under sun shade outside
My plate loaded with enough food for two!
We enjoyed our meals, boxed up the take-homes, and then walked around the area to view the scenery. They, too, have a nice Veteran's Memorial so Doreen suggested Joe Thornell and I have our picture taken with the Air Force flag in the background.
As mentioned before, we were elevated above Medora so we took some pictures on the scenery:
A panoramic of the scenery
A view of the amphitheater where they hold musical events
A view of the chimney where the beef processing plant used to be. More on this tomorrow
Chateau de Mores, the 26-room summer home of Marquis de Mores, the founder of Medora. Also, more about this tomorrow.
So, another great day at Medora comes to a close. Back at the campground, the Thornell's joined us in our "tenement on wheels" for a little bourbon tasting event where we sampled some Buffalo Trace bourbon, very smooth E. H. Taylor Jr bourbon, some Buffalo Trace bourbon cream, a little Iowa Templeton Rye, some Maker's Mark bourbon, and a sample of Ballotin chocolate peanut butter whiskey served cold! We are lucky to have great friends and military comrades like the Thornells, and so glad it worked out that they could join us here in Madora.
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