Today started with our noses. Ted and I went outside to get into the car, looked at each other, and said, “Do you smell smoke?” The air was more hazy than it’s been, so we concluded we were actually smelling the smoke from the Montana wildfires. North and South Dakota are very windy, which probably helps the smoke move along. We haven’t had a calm day since we arrived in South Dakota a week ago. In fact, the standard Dakota joke is the tourist asking, “Does the wind always blow like this?” and the resident responding with either, “No, sometimes it’s worse” or “No, sometimes it blows from a different direction.” (P.S. We had a message from Kathy saying Kirksville had a strange color of air all day and a very red sunset from the Montana fires, so the westerly winds must have been unusually strong today.)
After enjoying the Enchanted Highway, we arrived in Medora and spent some time walking around this small North Dakota city. Think of it as Branson, MO, with only one show (the Medora Musical), so on a much smaller scale. The entire downtown area can be walked in 30 minutes, including some time for browsing in the stores. Actual shopping would, of course, take longer.
There was live music on a street corner, and we were hungry for a snack, so we bought a scotcheroo (the ever-present Dakota treat) and enjoyed the show for awhile.
School has started, so it looks like an old folks crowd. How can we possible qualify for that designation???? Can you picture Ted in suspenders?
We were assured that parking would be plentiful at the Musical, but the crowd would be large, so we should arrive at the venue no later than 5:00. The Pitchfork Steak Fondue didn’t start until 5:30, so we had time to look around and to browse in the gift shop.
Perhaps souvenir outfits for us to purchase and wear in Missouri.
We are in the North Dakota Badlands. The dining area is to the left. This is about half the sidewalk for the dinner line, but the line extended far beyond the sidewalk’s end.
Promptly at 5:30, the Coal Diggers began playing music in the dining area and a PA announcement directed us to begin lining up as indicated by the painted footprints on the concrete. We weren’t too far from the front of the line. The line you see in the background of the photo below became increasingly crowded and extended beyond the building in the upper right of the picture. As we ate, we watched the steadily moving line, and we didn’t see the end of it for an hour.
At this point, we were directed to form four lines for the buffet tables.
12-ounce pitchfork steaks, ready to be cooked.
The Coal Diggers kept us entertained, but had to leave early. They also perform in the Musical and had to move their instruments and change clothes.
Here’s Ted in one of the buffet lines.
The food was plentiful and delicious, and included dessert.
The Medora Musical is BIG in ND. This bride and her entire wedding party had the wedding reception at the Pitchfork Steak Fondue and the Medora Musical.
The Medora Musical is advertised as the “rootin’-tootinest, boot-scootinest show in all the west!” It was very family-oriented and positive. There was lots of patriotism and the theme was “we’re all in this together, so we need to do the right thing.” It’s a timeless message.
Medora. Just like Hollywood. The amphitheater is set on a bluff of the Badlands. You can see the seats in the right center of the picture. Three lo-o-o-ng escalators are needed to get the crowd down to the seating area. The escalators were reversed at the end of the show to take us back up.
The Coal Diggers are in the gazebo, now in their show costumes. The Medora Singers are onstage. Note the live horses pulling the stagecoach and entering from the right.
Every few weeks, the Musical changes its featured act. We saw a comedian, who was really funny. Previous headliners this summer included a music/ circus/ juggling act, a comedian/ magician/ balloon artist, and an acrobatics group. At one point in every show, all children 12 and under are invited to come onstage. At that point, the cowboy in center stage (above) talked about how all of us can be superheroes, just by doing the right thing. After the kids went back to their seats, the onstage players talked about the first time they’d been on this stage. They were all under 12 and got hooked on the Musical.
Here are the kids onstage. They are striking their superhero poses.
Thanks to all the North Dakotans who asked if we were going to Medora and to my curiosity to find out why they cared, Ted and I had a wonderful dinner with 900 of our new friends and enjoyed a light-hearted outdoor performance on a beautiful summer evening.