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June 13 – Saturday After breakfast in the motorhome, the 4 of us set out to explore Medora. We started by visiting the 26- room ranch house built by Marquis de Mores for his wife, Medora, and their family. It is built on a bluff above the Little Missouri River. There are no hallways in the house, just doors between rooms. It is, we are told by docents, the European way of building in that time period. The grounds take a steep downward slide to a groundskeeper cottage & stables. Lovely views from the home. We were treated to a very interesting history lesson by docents as we sat on the covered porch that surrounds two sides of the house. After traipsing through the house, we had lunch & rested up for the long-anticipated Steak Fondue and the 50th anniversary production of the Medora Musical. The food at the Steak Fondue was soooo good. Much, much better than expected! The Medora Musical was an unforgettable evening and we had great seats. A fast- paced, high-energy, totally family-oriented, unashamedly patriotic, boot-scootin’ dancing & singing evening lasting about 2 hours. It ends with a dramatic reenactment of a battle at the Spanish American War. The stage buildings were drawn back. Our view is of the surrounding mountains. The actors on stage were the American soldiers fighting unseen forces in the nearby hills. Fireworks represented the return fire on our soldiers, many of whom were lying ‘wounded’ on stage. Very dramatic! They managed to do all this without frightening the many young children in the audience. We were enthralled by the whole production. Quite a night and we were dragging after this long day. Never needed my bed more!

The summer ranch house named the Chateau de Mores. Looks rather modern from the outside. It is quite warm in the sun today.

A delightful history lesson by docents in period costumes as we sit in the shade on the porch.

Sue & Heyden make the trek down to the stables & groundskeeper’s cottage below the ranch house. The Little Missouri River is just beyond the trees.

Try getting in this tub!

The view from the Steak Fondue buffet. Nice, huh?

People are beginning to trickle in. This entire area is full come mealtime.

Yep, those are ribeye steaks on pitchforks. There are several ‘cowboys’ with a like number of pitchforks at their stations. That stainless steel cauldron is the cooking pot of boiling oil.

2 of the 4 buffet setups. They somehow manage to move several hundred people fairly quickly through the lines. It was interesting to see how smoothly it all worked.

Sue, Heyden, & Gary patiently wait their turn in line as I hold our table. Those steaks boiling in oil are smelling wonderful.

The dinner & the theater share a parking lot. As we walked from dinner to the Musical, we ran into ‘Pres. & Mrs. Roosevelt’. They entertained the crowd and Heyden (back to camera) was rather fascinated.

The 2,900 seat amphitheater built in the side of a mountain is accessed by an upper & lower escalator totaling the height of 7 stories. Until a few years ago, the access was by stairs. I’d’ve never made it! This theater is a sellout most every performance, 7 days a week from May to September. The performances change from year to year and a good many in the audience are repeat attendees. Lots & lots of Minnesota license plates in the parking lot. Some told us they had been coming every year for 20 or 30 years.

The program starts with a horse & rider galloping onstage with a large American flag. The audience rises to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

Let the fun begin. Clever western music and pretty costumes on these energetic performers get your hands clapping.

Heyden & a few of her closest friends (that would be all children in attendance) are invited onstage. What a surprise for her. She seemed to enjoy the experience. (Above & Right)

The singing & dancing keeps us wide-eyed. They are whirling & kicking & jumping around so much that my poor camera cannot keep up! Excuse any blurring, please.

The two performers in front are the ‘constant’ throughout the show. She is a singer with a wonderful voice & he is a comedian/performer.

A light show on the mountains as the theater lights up for attendees to leave the theater. We have walked up a lot of stairs from our seats (aisle-row 4) to the level where the escalator will return us to the parking lot. I took the picture from that level. As we approached the escalator, a number of the performers who had just sang & danced throughout the performance were on hand to talk with attendees, patiently were selfied, and just added some more charm to a perfectly charming evening.