Medora, ND

We left MN and drove over 500 miles to get to Medora, ND for a visit to Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  We brought a heat wave with us, clearly.  Steve finally admitted that there actually might be some validity to the term heat index.  It was so muggy in St. Michael that all of the windows on my sister’s house were covered in condensation.  And it is hot & muggy here in ND, as well.  We only visited the South Unit, driving the recommended loop and hiking all the ranger-recommended hikes.  On our second day we took the short drive to the Painted Canyon for a super pleasant evening hike.  The park is beautiful, even more so because, despite the fact that we are visiting in peak season, it just isn’t crowded.  It is also super clean (no litter), probably the cleanest National Park we have ever visited thus far.  The girls were all delighted by the prairie dog towns which are not only plentiful, but active.  There are little prairie dogs all around, just chatting it up with each other!  When Genna saw them, she asked, “Is that a mouse, or is that a dog??”  The Cottonwood Campground Picnic Area is probably the nicest picnic area we’ve been to, as well…picnic tables in great condition and each one separate and shady. 

We also went to the Medora Musical on Sunday night, when kids get in for free.  Lots of country western songs and dancing.  Pretty good show, all in all, though it would be super spendy to go if we had to pay for tickets for the kids. 

We took it easy on our second day here, which was much needed!  We discovered that Medora has awesome playgrounds, especially considering it is such a small little town!  The girls wished we had more time to play at all of them, as well as browse all of the gift shops.  Definitely a neat little town to visit!