Pitchfork Fondue Anyone?

Sadly left the North Unit this morning in showers and clouds. We really enjoyed this stop and highly recommend it. We are in Mountain Time now as we rolled down Rte 85S down to I94W. We try to stay off the interstates but in some areas the routes meld together. The Painted Canyon Visitor Center sits on the upper margin of the badlands. Walking the trail along the canyon rim where we had a picnic lunch we were treated to a panorama of the broken topography and it's colorful hues. The colors in the canyon walls mixed with the dark green trees and flowing grasslands are terrific. It is so hard to capture it all in pictures.

We arrived at the Red Trail Campground in Medora, ND mid afternoon. This came highly recommended by the folks we met at Fort Totten. It was OK, we got a nice site on the end by the entrance. The campground is very convenient and close to town. Medora is a very historic town with lots to do. The town was founded in April 1883 by a French nobleman, the Marquis de Mores. He named the town for his bride who was the daughter of a wealthy New York City Banker. Prior to the Marquis's arrival the area had been a hunting ground for Native Americans, the site of The Battle of the Badlands in 1864 where the military fought the Sioux. General Georg Custer also passed through in 1876 on his fatal march west to Little Bighorn. When the Marquis arrived he founded the town and built a meat packing plant, hotel, stores, and a large Chateau . Although he was a visionary he returned to France 10 years later in Financial ruin. Understanding this history it was now time for us to go exploring.

Everyone we talked to recommended 2 things here... the Pitchfork Fondue and the Medora Musical. The musical was recognized as one of the 2009 top events in North America, but we've seen so many of these shows in our travels we decided to pass on it this time. We purchased our tickets for thePitchfork Fondue and headed into the historic area. First stop was the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame. This explores the history of Native Americans, ranching, rodeo, and the western lifestyle of the northern plains horse culture and the badlands. There was a new display on the 2009 National Finals Rodeo Cowboys which was really interesting. After all that history we were thirsty and in a cowboy town where else would you go... The Rough Riders Hotel! Built in 1885 the hotel has always been the center of activity in Medora where visitors arrived by car and on horseback. We mosey'd up to the bar and felt like we had stepped back in time.

With our thirst quenched - it's now dinner time. We pulled into the corral of the Pitchfork Steak Fondue. Every night the cowboys load ribeye steaks onto pitchforks and fondue them western style. We found a spot at a long table and savored our steak as we loverlooked the picturesque badlands from atop a bluff at the Tjaden Terrace. The steak came with all the fixin's and new friends. We met a nice couple (Bill and Margaret) from Pheonix. After dinner we went back to camp. Being close to town we discovered that the local train goes through town several times a night. t sounded like it was coming right through the coach! We are learning that campgrounds and railroads seem to go together! It was a nice night.