Red Trail Campground Review

While we were in Medora, we stayed at the Red Trail Campground.  The nice thing about the campground is that it is within walking distance of the town.  Unfortunately, I can not recommend this park as a place to stay.  :(

With our Good Sam discount, it was $27/night, which is a little pricey for only electric and water.  The bathrooms and showers were AWFUL!  I had to clean them each time we went!  I don't think the management has even attempted to clean since the park opened.  Not good!

There is a playground, but it was also very dirty and unkept.  The equipment was not very sturdy or safely built.

The laundry room was also filthy.  They only had 3 washers and 2 dryers, which caused a lot of confusion when you had several people trying to get their laundry done in a timely manner.  The machines did work well, but with a large rv park, they really need at least twice as many washers and dryers to accomodate the campers.

They have an onsite "store" with a few essentials, but you have to spend a minimum of $25!  The owner of the park was also not friendly or helpful at all.  Very disappointing.  Here is a town of maybe 70 people, with out a grocery store, you would think that the convenience store would have essentials at a reasonable cost.  They charged $3.29 for ONE loaf of BREAD!  Robbery, in my opinion.  The closest store is in Dickinson, 40 miles away. :)
If you plan on visiting Medora, come prepared! :)

It really is unfortunate about this rv park.  It soured our stay in Medora. 
We met some of the sweetest people, and had some amazing experiences; horseback riding, the musical, the city park, but if we were ever visiting again, we would definitely stay somewhere else.

Blessings,
Steph

New Friends & the Medora Musical!

Here we are with our new friends, after they performed their free "Wild West" show in the town of Medora.  It was short and sweet, but fun!  It was so great to meet Cathy, Jerry and Jimmy and spend time on the ranch.  Thanks SO much!

Later that evening, we went to the Medora Musical.  On Wednesday's it is FREE for kids under 18, so we all went for a total of $35!!!  Very affordable for a musical admission!  :)

The muscial seating is set in a beautiful valley.  There is a cool escalator that sends you down to the stage and consessions.  We saw elk roaming in the background behind the set too!

Before the show, they ask the kids to go on the stage and sing with some of the cast.  The little ones thought it was pretty exciting. :)

The musical was just wonderful, and we really enjoyed it!  It ran for almost 2 hours, but it didn't seem that long, though. :)  Part of the performance also included a world famous ventriloquist, Sylvia.  She was hilarious!  The crowd was involved and we all laughed out loud!

Overall, it was a great show! 

In Medora, we met some of the nicest people!  This man is actually a "hometown hero" of Medora.  Though, we did not know that at the time of this picture, but they introduced him during the Musical.  He is the cowboy that rides his horse down the mountain, during the musical, and has been doing it for 35 years!  He has only missed ONE show in 35 years!  Yee Haw!

Blessings,
Steph

Theodoore Roosevelt National Park...It's "Bully!"

Last week, while we were in Medora, ND., we were able to earn Jr. Ranger badges at this beautiful park.  We have been reading a really interesting biography, Bully for You, Teddy Roosevelt!, by Jean Fritz. 
Teddy was known for a lot of things; of which, was the saying, "Bully!"  It just means, very simply, GREAT!

At the National Park, they have a great set up with a video, museum and outside is THE AUTHENTIC log home that belonged to Teddy when he lived in Medora.
Here is a horse and "Teddy" made completely out of small wood pieces.  The body is dressed in Roosevelt's clothes.  I can not imagine how long it took someone to build this beautiful tribute!

This is his log home!  Too cool.

Inside, were some originals, and other pieces of the time period.  They have done a beautiful job preserving everything, especially recently with all the flooding, they had to build dikes around the property.
This is Roosevelt's writing desk.  :)

Here is his travel trunk. :)

One of the rangers gave a nice talk as she guided us through out the house.

YEAH!  Golden Gang!  Another Jr. Ranger badge!  :)

Blessings,
Steph

Cowboys & Cowgirls

One day, last week, I was doing laundry, minding my own business, when a REAL cowgirl walked in.  :)  I knew with one look, that she was authentic.  She had beautiful ice-blue eyes, weathered, tan skin, and long braids, like you would picture on Pocahontas.  She was wearing a baseball cap, a long sleeved, button-down shirt, western jeans, belt and buckle.  Her boots were a worn, brown leather with worn-down spurs. :)
She might have been a little intimidating if it were not for her peaceful spirit and gentle smile.
We started talking, and sure enough, she was in Medora working a horse ranch for about a month, until she heads back to Minnesota.  She invited our kids to come out for some horse-back riding, too! 
The ranch is in the back, off a dirt road, inside of the Theodoore Roosevelt National Park, and the drive was just breath taking!  The roads winding up and down for miles and miles along the mountains seemed to never end!  We saw buffalo, elk, deer, and tons of prairie dogs.

When we arrived at the ranch, there was Cathy, the cowgirl, Jerry and Jimmy; the sweetest, most genuine cowboys anyone might ever meet!
They had the horses saddled, ready for a ride!  The kids were SOO excited!  Todd and I got to go on the trail too.  :)  We even crossed a creek!

We are definitely addicted now!  These horses were just precious.  They LOVED to be patted and rubbed and were SO patient with all the kids.  Hannah and Emily even got to ride all by themselves, trotting in a pen, and did very well. (Cathy was a wonderful teacher!)
Tanner also got his horse to a full gallop!  He loved it!

The kids are talking about saving their money to buy a horse or two!  Sounds wonderful to me!



After we ate some watermelon and had a great evening with our new friends, they warned us to be careful leaving the National Park as the sun was going down.  This is when the animals REALLY like to venture out......

So, we start off, and all seems fine, until Todd almost hit a buffalo that was standing ON THE PAVED ROAD!  HA!

Then, we saw this one trying to scratch his belly on a post!  He was only a few feet away! 

We were all staring in disbelief and excitement.  One minute, we were scared that it was going to turn and ram us off the cliff, and then the other minute, we were laughing in amazment!  It was cool!

Blessings,
Steph

Medora, ND

Driving through North Dakota looked a lot like this from the eastern side.
Then, we headed west:

Pictures, unfortunately do not show ALL the many colors in these beautiful mountains!  It was like turning on a switch, and all of sudden the plains and hills are gone, and buttes and mountains abound!  The kids really liked the sudden change in scenery, as they all yelled and whooped, as we drove by.

Medora, ND is a VERY small town; only 67 residents, that resembles an old town from the west.  The locals do a fantastic job keeping it authentic and clean, I must say.  :)

They have built a really inventive and fun playground in the town as well!

We strolled along the sidewalks admiring all the shops and cowboy gear, but we could NOT pass up the salt-water taffy shop!  They make it right there inside the shop, so got to see the process, before inhaling our chosen pieces. :)  Tanner and Todd actually chose some halepeno flavored taffy!  That's just wrong in my book!  YUCK.  They said it was, "alright," and it was not their favorite.  I could have told them that!  HA!

The next day, the kids and I went to the FREE Heritage Museum in town.  It is a memorial to one of their beloved residents, Harold Schafer.  He is the man who invented Mr. Bubble!  :)

It was a fun little museum, that also had a nice video sharing Harold's story.  He was quite the salesman, and loved to help others.  The Schafers gave so much to this little town, and it shows.

That quote just about sums it up!  LOVE it!

Blessings,
Steph

State #9!!! & Happy Father's Day!

We have reached Bismarck, North Dakota, our 9th state on this incredible journey!  I LOVE North Dakota!
It is just gorgeous this time of year, with miles and miles of green hills and prairies.  Did you know that there is less than 700,000 people in the entire state?  There are over a million in Houston, TX alone!
It is SO clean and safe.  LOVE it!
While we were in Bismarck, we decided to visit a little town about 30 miles north, Washburn, with a population less than 1500.  This weekend was the Lewis & Clark Riverboat Festival, so we decided to visit the Interpretive Center, which was FREE for the festival. :)

We also attended their parade and car show.  It was fun to see the modern and classic cars.  They threw TONS of candy to the kids, so ofcourse we ended up with a diaper bag full. :)

This was a first time experience for all of us too. :)  It was enjoyable being in a small town and watching everyone involved.

 Zach was totally pumped when he saw this corvette. HA!

They also had hot dogs and pickles for $1.00, so we all had our first Cloverdale PINK hotdogs!

This was a BIG moment for Parker.  Usually, he is too frightened to get close to animals, but he gathered up enough courage to go inside the petting zoo.  :)

While we were in Bismarck, Todd made an appointment with a local RV repair shop to get the valves and plumming fixed, however, I want to brag on my awesome husband, and say that HE FIXED IT!!!  He designed a new system, assembled it, and it is working beautifully!  :)
I am so proud of his perseverence and ingenuity.  He also saved us hundreds of dollars, too. :)

For Father's Day, Todd wanted to go to a local diner, so we went to Kroll's for breakfast.  YUM!

Happy Father's Day Todd!  I am blessed to be your wife, and raise our five children with you!  I thank God that HE gave me, YOU!  :)
I love you so much.

Happy Father's Day Papa Golden and Papa-Jack!
We all love you SO much!
Blessings,
Steph