Theodore Roosevelt National Park: Prairie Dogs and a River Crossing (and Rattlesnakes!)

On Saturday, we made our way back out of Montana into North Dakota, marking a new state for both Miriam and Hans, their only "new one" of the trip.  We pitched our tent along the Little Missouri River in Theodore Roosevelt National Park and set out to explore the North Dakota Badlands from a lesser-known national park.

We spent Saturday afternoon exploring the adorable tourist town of Medora, ND, a village of only 112 people according to the last census, but full of shops, restaurants, and locally made ice cream.  Medora is proud of its history, founded by Marquis de Mora and his wife Medora in 1883, and chosen by Theodore Roosevelt around the same time.  

In the 1960s, the meat-packing industry had died out, and the town was in danger of fading away as well when Harold Schafer stepped in.  Schafer was a North Dakota businessman and millionaire, founder of the Gold Seal company, the original producer of Mr. Bubble bath soap, and he invested heavily in reviving the village with tourism.  Medora is very proud of all three of these men, and seems to celebrate all three at every turn, as well as Mrs. Medora de Mora, who apparently spoke 6 languages and was an excellent horseback rider and hunter.

Sunday we loaded up my pack and set off on a long hike, the first stage of which involved crossing a river, with water nearly up to Hans' waist.  

We ended up hiking about 12 miles, through the Badlands, across the prairie, and picking our way through more muddy river crossings.  

The biggest highlight of the trek for all of us (along with the river crossing), was that the path took us straight through several prairie dog cities.  Thousands of prairie dogs were out, looking at us and scolding us, wondering what we were up to.  They are so adorable, and there were so many of them.  

I especially loved this brave little guy who posed so nicely for us!

We saw some other wildlife, including two rattlesnakes who were not happy with us wanting to be on their path (and I'd be happy not to encounter rattlers so closely again, thank you very much!), and we had to cut our hike to 12 miles because a bison was lying across the trail so we had to turn around, but that was probably fine, as it was getting hot and we were getting tired.

We crossed the river again, and then headed to the town pool for a swim and shower, and then some ice cream.  

In the evening, we took in The Medora Musical, a kind of revue show that runs every night all summer in a beautiful amphitheater, with some history, some jokes, and a singing and dancing troupe.  

The show finished as it was getting dark, and with storm clouds building, we took off across the parking lot, beating thousands to their cars, and managed to jump into the tent before the skies opened.