North Dakota

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Medora Musical Stage (Note)	Pitchfork Fondue - ribeyes on pitchforks ... (Note)	...and then cooked in boiling oil - delicious!
Hungry people in line!	(Note)	Maltese Cross Cabin
ND Badlands	Bull Snake - we think	Beginning of fall colors
Lots of prairie dogs!		Lichen
Blue like color is from ash deposited from volcanoes from the west at the Rockies and Tetons were formed	May have been a young rabbit - stayed this close to trail until we passed by!	Vein of Lignite Coal (Note)
Scoria	Growth on north side (left) of hill and no growth on the south side (right) of hill because of dryness.	Clinkers
View from Buck Hill	Sandstone formation	Little Missouri River
Wild Horses - notice long tail

Teddy Roosevelt first came to this area of North Dakota to hunt and then fell in love with the area. He returned in 1883 and established a ranch near Medora, ND. This area is called the Badlands because of the unusual land features. When you get away from the lush valleys right next to the Little Missouri River, you are soon in winding canyons of sandstone and other rocks that have eroded over the years to expose layers of rock that are different colors. Return

One of the layers is a bluish color and that comes from ash that fell into this area as volcanoes erupted in the western areas as the Rockie and Teton mountains were formed. The black line shown in this picture is actually a form of coal called 'lignite'. That is the same type of coal burned by some of the power plants in north and central Texas. Over the years, some of this coal has been ignited from lighting strikes and the exteme heat generated by the burning coal has turned the closest layers of rock into a red layer that is called scoria. In some places the scoria has been exposed by other erosion and these places are called 'clinkers'. 'Clinkers' is also a name given to extemely hard deposits that fall into the bottom of the coal plant boilers. Periodically, workers have to go into the bottom of the boiler with jack hammers and take out the 'clinkers'. There is one area in this park that was ignited by lighting in 1951 and it burned and smoldered until 1977, 26 years. Return

Medora is now the most popular vacation spot in North Dakota, partially because of the National Park, but also because of the Medora Theatre Complex. This theatre presents a western musical every night during the summer that tells the story of Roosevelt's beginnings here in Medora and it's colorful history. This picture is a shot of the stage area from high up on the hill. The seating area is built right on the side of the hillside and naturally slopes down to the stage. Return

The other attraction at the stage area is the "steak fondue". This is huge outdoor restaurant that cooks the rib-eye steaks by spearing them onto pitchforks and then cooking them in hot grease. With the steak you can all the other fixins you need; a great meal. Return

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