[Medora, ND, Jun 14, 2025]

I had a day off for Juneteenth, which I used to make a week-long trip to North and South Dakota. There are 3 national parks here to visit. One is in North Dakota (Teddy Roosevelt) and two are in South Dakota (Badlands and Wind Cave). A state park and a few other sights in South Dakota gave me plenty to fill the week with.

The closest airport with direct flights from Portland was Billings, MT. From there, it was a 4-hour drive to Medora, ND – the tiny town of only 50 or so year-around residents that’s home to TRNP’s South Unit. I learned somewhere that the Medora Musical was a must-see, so I got us tickets for the night we got into town. We had just enough time to check into our hotel and grab dinner before the musical.

The Medora Musical was the perfect introduction to the area. I learned what Teddy Roosevelt did here, why the Badlands are called that and how the Medora Musical came about.

Teddy Roosevelt first came to what was then the Dakota Territory in 1883, a decade and a half before he became the 26th President of the US. The following year, his wife and mother both died just hours apart. He returned to the area to recuperate and established his Elkhorn Ranch (now part of the national park). He spend a few years raising cattle until he lost most of it to a long, cold winter in 1886-1887.

Although he no longer ranched, he returned to the area every year for the next 13 years. He even served as the county’s sheriff. In that role, he chased two boat thieves on the Little Missouri River. It was a cold pursuit on the just thawing river, and it took several weeks to catch up to the thieves. This whole story was one of the acts of the musical, set to “Dead or Alive” by Jon Bon Jovi.

Another piece re-enacted his accomplishments in the battle of San Juan Heights with the Rough Riders during the Spanish-American War in 1898.

Medora, ND was established the same year TR came here for the first time, 1883. A French nobleman built a meatpacking plant here and named the town after his wife. In the 1960s, a North Dakota businessman and his wife, Harold and Sheila Shafer established the Medora Musical as a way to revitalize the town. The musical has been running since 1965. A Hollywood-inspired Medora sign sat in the hills above the theater.

Although it made for a long day, the Medora Musical was totally worth it. But I was really looking forward to exploring TNRP over the next couple of days.