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June 14 & 15 – Sunday & Monday
On the menu for today is the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame, checking out the shops & stuff downtown
and the Flag Day Horse Parade. Not on the menu, but definitely had to be taken care of, was Sue’s spider
bite. We’ll get to that in a moment. The N.D. C. Hall of Fame was a very pleasant surprise. Anticipating lots
of saddles, awards & photos of cowboys that would have me cross-eyed in no time, I was pleased to see a wide
range of subjects in this work-in-progress museum. There were the stories of the Indian cowboys from way
back. There were displays of various outdoor living experiences of early cowboys such as a chuckwagon, etc.
Posters & some memorabilia of the Wild West Shows that featured not only the Annie Oakleys & William
Codys, but the everyday cowboys as well. There was even a sign w/pictures & historical info of the
(Lawrence) Welk family’s N.D. ranch. It was a nice experience & we all enjoyed it. We walked about the small
town as intermittent showers came & went. There are several free or low-cost things for families to do that
are mixed in with the retail and restaurants. Very nicely done. Heyden especially liked the shooting gallery.
And the ice cream store, too. We wandered over to the main street in town and watched the Flag Day Horse
Parade. The streets were lined with folks of all ages, most waving flags passed out by the Boy Scouts. The
entrants included just about anyone with a horse, flag or not, and those with carriages. Although warm, the
day was cloudy. The small town parades are favorites of mine. Usually informal, the entrants are symbolic of
the town and the event is most endearing. This parade did have some ‘stars’. The current Mrs. North Dakota
was riding her mount with her crown and suitable horse-riding apparel and the stars of the Medora Musical
were in costume riding in a large horse-drawn carriage. Nice, really nice. Short…..only lasted 10 to 12
minutes. Now, Sue’s bite. She had mentioned a very itchy bite on the top of her foot the night before. By
morning it had swollen rather dramatically and it itched off & on. We asked at the motel office, where she
was staying with Heyden, if there was a clinic in town. The reply was that there was no clinic but there were
ambulances patrolling the streets & to flag one down. We had just seen one so we followed it and flagged it
down. The EMT took a photo of the bite on her smart phone & sent it to a paramedic, who promptly texted,
‘Recluse Spider…….I’ll be right there’. Well, lemme tell you that will put chills up your spine, big time! We’ve
all seen the pictures on the internet of tissue destruction these bites can cause…..even death. He arrived
quickly and after determining that she was healthy, told Sue what to do for the bite. After checking things
on the internet, she went with what he had told her and, in a few days, the swelling subsided and the tissue
around the bite looked pretty healthy. Within a week, all was well. Well, except for the puncture wounds the
spider inflicted that still could be seen on her foot. Scary business. We spent most of Monday at Theodore
Roosevelt National Park. We didn’t realize there were 3 separate parks under one heading. I’m sorry to say
we missed the other 2. But, I’m very glad we got to this, the main park. I’ll let the pictures below tell the
tale.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
As we’re leaving the campground to
explore town, Heyden sports her Medora
Musical hat. Always liked her in a tiara.
Unfortunately, the only available horse
to ride at the N.D. Cowboy Hall of Fame
was this fella.
The displays went beyond the cowboys
themselves. This is a display of various
calibers of bullets commonly used in a variety
of weapons in the good ol’ days.
Lawrence Welk’s history can be found here, too.
Never thought of him as a cowboy. A real surprise
for this Californian who lives about 10 miles from the
Lawrence Welk Mobile Home Village & golf course in
Escondido, CA.
Aha! Here’s some cowboy rodeo guys. They also include
a recent female rodeo winner of state fame in their
displays. It is new & not complete, so no pic of that
young lady.
Grandpa & grandgirl share some time at the
shooting gallery. Heyden thought it was
pretty cool.
Candy store full of wonderful stuff. My hands are
up as the rain is falling again. Not bad, just irksome.
(Left and Above)
Just some shots of the cute shops in town.
Heyden shares my interest in old homes. We visited this
fully restored home owned by the Marquis’ in-laws. They
owned it, but never lived there. Some of their key
employees lived there to take care of the businesses the
in-laws owned in Medora. It is so special to me that
Heyden enjoys one of my favorite things to do.
Everyone is waiting for the parade to start. Note
child on left using her flag as a teething tool.
The parade starts with a large American flag
followed by pretty young ladies holding the
different armed forces flags. That big flag could
get tricky in the wind. Don’t think horses really
care for things flapping about their bodies.
The Medora Musical performers were in
costume in this carriage. A real crowd
pleaser. Lots of applause.
The Bismarck Mounted Police made a splash
with their colorful uniforms.
These gals sure made a statement with
their beautiful horses and patriotic shirts
and horse blankets. Most impressive!
Mrs. North Dakota, wearing her tiara & a
sparkly shirt, gives a friendly smile & wave
to parade goers. Her horse is having a bit
of a moment as something up ahead is
annoying him.
The entrance to the park is at the edge of
town. The Visitors’ Center is just beyond the
sign. Lots of information to be gotten there.
The tall stack in the picture is all that is left
of the meat packing plant built by the
Marquis de Mores as he developed Medora,
well before this Park was created.
This park is, for us, unexpectedly beautiful. The above pictures really don’t do it justice. I
would love to come back and get better acquainted with the whole park. It appears to be
well taken care of by the Park Rangers.
A small herd of buffalo relaxing with their
young’uns, but ever watchful, on this cloudy
afternoon.
Playful youngsters and their watchful parents amused us for
an hour. We just parked and watched. They are very busy
eating, napping in the sun, running to a neighbor’s mound and
did I mention eating? They were constantly stopping to
munch on something. We really enjoyed this stop. I chose
pictures with a magpie & a small blackbird to give reference
to the ‘dogs’ size.
The ‘wild’ horses in the Park are really feral.
They are the descendants of domesticated
horses that were abandoned (?). They are
totally self-reliant and have free range in
the Park. There is a group of volunteers who
see to the needs (vaccinations, emergencies)
of these lovely animals.
A 5 ½ inch bird with a long name, Lazuli
Bunting. With my zoom all the way extended,
I managed to get one shot of this little
beauty before he flew away. I learned he will
join hundreds of other buntings on their
migration trail. I also was reminded how
difficult it is to find a bird in a bird book
when you don’t know its name.
See the story above for details. It started with an
EMT. After photographing Sue’s foot, the EMT
texts the paramedic. He states, “Recluse Spider”.
The paramedic arrives followed by a fire & rescue
crewman coming on shift who happened by. She got a
lot of good attention. There are no doctors or clinic,
just patrolling ambulances during the summer. Most
of the year there are about 110 people living here.
