Today was officially my last day on the payroll at my job, counting vacation time. For Catholics, it's also the feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord. It's an important event in the New Testament. I didn't plan to make that my last day. It just worked out between planning for the events at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the vacation time I had left. I realized the significance of the date after submitting my resignation.
Dickinson, ND
I began by visiting the Dickinson Dinosaur Museum. Last year, when I was thinking about visiting North Dakota in my trip to the Western States, this was what I planned to see so I could add ND to my list of visited states. I planned to stay in a hotel, see that, and leave, due to limited time. I'm so glad I saved ND until I had more time.
Museums in Dickinson, ND
The Dinosaur Museum was quite interesting. There were a number of models, fossels, and exhibits of minerals. Photos were allowed, so you can take the tour with me.
Next door to the Dickinson Dinosaur Museum was the Joachim Regional Museum. This was a small museum featuring artifacts from pioneers who settled in North Dakota. This one was free and photos were allowed (or at least not prohibited...the staff person was on the phone and did not stop me).
Finally, I visited the Pioneer Machinery Museum which was just across the parking lot from the other two museums. They had a number of pieces of farm equipment from the nineteenth and twentieth century. A very nice guide went along with me and answered questions. In some cases, some of the equipment was so old that he had to explain its purpose. I learned through this that John Deere's son made his own company and started making equipment. I did not take a lot of photos here because the equipment was so close together.
Driving along I-94
If you are traveling in Western North Dakota or Montana, be sure you have adequate gas in your tank. There are few interstate exits and many of them have a warning of NO SERVICES. Don't expect to see TA, Flying J, or Love's Travel Stores at nearly every exit as is the case in many eastern states. Since I fuel up frequently, I was well prepared.
Painted Canyons Rest Stop
The main event for today was the Badlands at Theodore Roosevelt National Park. These were easily accessible off I-94. The first stop was the Painted Canyons at exit 32. This part was free. There is a viewing area from the rest stop. Park rangers were also available to answer questions. People could go down to hike in the canyons. But, it was 2pm and it was brutally hot. I decided against doing this. I had no idea I would do something like that in the brutal heat the very next day in Montana. If my creative photographic juices had been flowing properly at that point (as they were the next day) I definitely would have gone down there, heat or not. Of course, I would have spent all day there and not seen the South Unit of the park at Exit 27. See the photos.
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Medora, ND
I went on further to Exit 27, which was the exit for the South Unit of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. It is named after Roosevelt because when he came to North Dakota (in a buckskin outfit tailored by Brooks Brothers), he stayed in Medora. Medora is a tourist town with a western theme. The North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame is located here. There are a number of shops catering to tourists. The Medora Musical also takes place here. The Badlands surround the town.
I decided to visit the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame while I was there. I took a number of photos and watched a film about North Dakota and Teddy Roosevelt. See the photos.
South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park
Later, I went to the South Unit of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park (the Badlands). I spent hours there. Obviously there are the interesting rock formations. But there is also an opportunity to see lots of wildlife. I was fascinated to see that North Dakota has prickly pair cacti. I expected that was something only available in the southwest. See the photos.
Wild Horses, Prairie Dogs, and Bison
In terms of animals, the park has wild horses, prairie dogs, and bison. I saw all of them. Thankfully, the bison did not see me. The prairie dogs were humorous. They live in a community with lots of holes. They stand in their holes and act as sentries. When they sense danger (e.g. a person with a camera), the ones far away chirp and the closer ones dive into their holes. It's kind of rude that they don't want to be photographed. :) Finally, after many tries, one of them at least let me get close enough to get some clear photos. I took several and kept creeping closer. Finally, that one dove into its hole. The park warns people not to feed them, for fear of them losing their instincts to search out food on their own. See bison photos. See prairie dog photos.
As I drove through further, the prairie dogs would stand right by the side of the road gathering and eating food. They felt no danger as cars drove by. But, they did have the good sense not to go into the road. I saw absolutely no squished prairie dogs on the road.
Later in the day, a woman asked me if I had seen any bison. She said a park ranger told her they were all over and easily visible. I told her I had only seen one and only from behind. (I absolutely did not want to be in a position for the bison to see me. He could charge me and that would be it.)
I spent hours in the park. I came to the realization that I would never make it to the North Unit. As it got to be early evening, I began to finally apply creativity to photos and make use of the shadows. This would be a prelude to the photos taken in Makoshika State Park in Montana the next day.
Return of expensive gas prices
When I got back to Medora, I needed gas. For the first time, I saw gas at above $4/gallon. In eastern and central ND, gas was $3.69/gallon or $3.79/gallon at the most. But, if one is the only gas station in town, they can name their price. This was $4.16/gallon.
I visited a souvenir shop to see about postcards for this part of ND. From the postcards, I learned about the Medora Musical. The clerk told me it was happening that night. I originally wanted to get into Montana and get a good night's sleep. But, in realizing that I may not get back there to see this, I decided to find out what it was like.
The Medora Musical
Although the Medora Musical is within Medora, it's a long drive up a hill. I still sort of expected this would be in an auditorium with very few people present. Afterall, this is rural North Dakota. How many people could there be? I was in for a major surprise.
This is a huge area and most of the seats were sold. There is an outdoor escalator going from the gift shop/ticket area to the actual performance area. There are food vendors and easily at least 2,000 seats.
Basically, it's a western-themed musical variety show. There are a number of men and women in their late teens/early twenties that have various costumes, sing, and dance. There is a band. There is an MC. And, most importantly, there is an actor dressed as Teddy Roosevelt. He continues to pop up throughout the performance. As one who is interested in presidential history, obviously I liked that. See the photos.
During the performance, someone came in from "the big city." They asked if he was from New York but he said he was from Bismarck (ND's largest city). He kept trying to catch a train back to Bismarck. He talked about GPS systems, computers, cell phones, etc. He said he couldn't navigate without his GPS. The characters told him he had to follow the navigator in his heart. The MC had a funny routine about trying to use a computer, saying they do not mix with cowboys. He said he was told to boot it up and something about opening windows. He said he finally closed all the windows in his house and kicked it.
The character from the big city talked about how people needed to just do practical, utilitarian things rather than try to think or dream. The other characters explained that while hard work is necessary, society needs dreamers and thinkers to advance. It was interesting that I just happened to be present for this after close of business on the official last day of my former job.
The "city slicker" was still fretting about catching a train back to Bismarck when he was caught littering. The "sheriff" (someone dressed as a teddy bear) required him to do community service, taking more of his time. At the end of the show, he was convinced to stay in Medora and follow his heart.
The closing of the show was a scene from the Spanish American War featuring Teddy Roosevelt. The set was in front of a mountain. A rider dressed as Roosevelt (not the same actor as the one who appeared throughout the play) road up the mountain with a spotlight on him. Fireworks lighted up the sky. A large flag came down. At the end of the play, stars were projected on the side of the mountain.
Entering Montana
It was about two hours to get to my next hotel, which was in Glendive, Montana. This was just inside the state along I-94. Montana is so remote and not really a place that many people from the Northeast visit. I have wanted to see Montana for a long time. It was a thrill to pass the road sign announcing I had driven into Montana. This was my 41st visited state and the beginning of a six night visit in this state (and that amount of time does not even scratch the surface of Montana!).
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When I got off the interstate, I needed more gas. All the stations were at $3.99/gallon. The price would get worse as time went on.
The hotel room was very nice. It included a suite even though I didn't request one. I didn't pay any extra for it.
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