We left Sturgis to park at Ellsworth Afb while we both headed off to work for a few days. After returning from work we headed north into North Dakota starting on the western side of the state. We parked in a campground in the small town of Medora, a town really made popular by Theodore Roosevelt’s love of the black hills and cowboy lifestyle. When he was in his early twenties his wife and mother both died on the same day of different ailments. So he left for the black hills to get away from New York city and grieve. He fell so in love with the area that when he became president he went on a mission to designate that area and others as national parks. I guess he was the president who created the most national parks. Jim’s history lesson for the day. You’re welcome.

Some more history. The creation of the town of Medora. There was a Frenchman named Marquis de Mores who came to the black hills like most people looking for a better way of life, mostly from ranching. He came with money and not only started a ranch but also his own slaughterhouse and refrigeration plant. I believe he was the first to operate all three. He named the town after his wife, Medora.

We only planned on two full days there thinking the only thing worth seeing was the national park and a highly rated golf course I wanted to play. But as it turned out there was plenty to see and we had two jam packed days.

Day one started with the Medora gospel breakfast. Yes, you heard me right. Jamie convinced me to get up early and attend a breakfast with a gospel singing group. They were good, just not my cup of tea. I have alot of pictures from both day one and day two so I’m gonna devote separate posts to each place we visited. These are the pictures of the town, breakfast and our campsite