Medora and Theodore Roosevelt National Park, South Unit

In North Dakota, a sunny day quickly turns into a thundery one. The wind helps the clouds conglomerate, hook up, build electricity and thunder down on the campers. Thankfully, the storms tend to come in the evening and rage throughout the night, so my day-time adventuring is not hindered. At night, my tent shakes as the thunder strikes and echoes off the buttes, and it constantly being lit up by lightning. No matter: the tent stays dry and I sleep the best kind of sleep, waking up early and ready to go.

 

This morning I wake up to dense fog. The outside of my tent is soaked and I pile it into the backseat where, with the open car windows, it will dry before I have to set up camp again in a few hours. The Park Ranger I meet on my way out of the North Unit tells me that this kind of fog is very unusual for this time of year – it’s a treat, then, for me to be able to see it – the place feels even more remote, at the edge of everything, and I feel small and completely content. The sun is already trying to break through the fog, working hard to evaporate the water droplets hanging about in the air. The drive is slow, has to be slow – visibility is very poor and the roads are windy. A lone bison, soaked, is strolling alongside the road.

Suddenly, I drive through the wall of fog and into a fairytale morning with a crisp, blue sky. No one else is up yet, but I’m up early, heading to the popular South Unit’s first come first serve sites – it’s a Friday, and the campground will be getting full.

When I get to the South Unit, the RVs are already piling in – I see plates from Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio – by the end of the trip I shall be able to recite all the States. I am the only vehicle here from Canada. I find a site – it’s easier than I thought – many people are packing up and leaving, and because I’m in a tent, I don’t have the hassle of finding a site that will fit my humongous mobile home and car. This time my campground blends into a grassy field that quickly juts out into a cliff side. Beautiful. I set up my tent so that when I get up in the morning, this will be the first thing I see.

I am too excited to think about consuming food, and only hanker down to eat when my brain starts to bang against my skull do I realize that I should be feeding my body so that I can manage the hikes and enjoy my days. My friend turned me onto coconut water, and I have been drinking at least one a day and find that it helps – its awfully refreshing, and my substitute for coffee.

I spend the rest of my day in Medora – it is too hot to attempt a hike in the blazing sun, and Medora lies just at the entrance of the South Unit. Besides, I am craving a cold brew and an ice cream.

Medora is a town full of attractions – saloons, ice cream parlours, the Cowboy Museum, carriage rides – it is a town maintained for tourists’ pleasures, although I do see a lot of locals, in their cowboy boots clanging against the pavement, strolling to the one of the town’s watering holes. In the morning, the town is quiet and parking is easy to find, but as the sun begins to set, the town livens us. Cowboys start milling around town, with their particular cowboy walk – their hips seem stiff, their lower backs curving outwards as if already ready to catch the wind, formed to fill their shirts that turn into parachutes as they ride on their horses. Someone arrives to the saloon on horseback, leaving his horse tied under a shady tree. The town is also a gathering place for Harley Davidson riders, their shiny Harley’s parked along the main drag, decorating the town’s wide streets.

It’s hard to find a meal without meat, so at the Cowboy Cafe I have a deliciously greasy grilled cheese with a massive side order of crispy onion rings. Add a cold cream soda and you have yourself a perfect American meal.

One of the biggest attractions in Medora is the Medora Musical – a musical with an outdoor stage, offering spectacular vistas, particularly as the sun begins to set – everything turns to gold. The show is all about patriotism, freedom and independence in the expanse that is America – country songs, country dances, homages to Theodore Roosevelt and veterans. The show begins with the National Anthem, and ends with another patriotic song during which many people seem to get emotional. Of course, as if in a Hollywood film, it all ends with fireworks. It’s interesting to see, although like many people in the audience, I don’t know the country songs and can’t sing along.

The show ends past 10, and I have to drive through the park in the dark, which is incredible. I see deer and a snake slithering across the street – I have to make a sudden stop to avoid crushing him. Back at my campsite I lie down on my picnic bench and just breathe. The sky is marvellous. The air is fresh. I’m living the dream.

The next day I pack a lunch and set off on the 36 mile scenic route, stopping off for hikes and the scenic lookouts. I meet lots of people who are biking through the State of North Dakota, or across the States and I feel like I’m living in luxury, driving across. I meet a girl who is cycling from Portland to New Orleans, her dog in tow. Wow.

I have to say, I prefer the North Unit – it’s remoteness, more diverse landscape and more interesting hikes, and the lack of people, but still, the South Unit is amazing. There seem to be more bison here, and I drive through many Prairie Dog Towns, getting out of the car, finding a place to sit and blend so that the prairie dogs come out of their burrows and being, once again, to go about their business.

I am sad to leave this place. North Dakota. Legendary.

I hope to be back – there is a lot more to be seen here and I’d love to spend a holiday just in this state.