BIG SKY

Greetings from Wall, SD.  For those of you who have never heard of the Wall Drug Store.  As you can see from the sign, it was established in 1931 by a Ted Hustead, a pharmacist and his family trying to start a business in a very small town.  After getting off to a very slow start and struggling for several years, Mrs. Hustead had the idea to put signs along the highway offering free ice water to the travelers heading west to see Mount Rushmore and Yellowstone.  The business grew and the rest is "history".  It is still a pharmacy as well as a big tourist trap, and is still run by the family.  

This was the first stop on our 39 day adventure through Big Sky and Rocky Mountain country.  We had several socials to meet our guests as they arrived in Wall before the first day and orientation on September 3rd.  While in Wall, we had several days to explore sites in the area like the Badlands National Park, the Minuteman Missile Historic site, an authentic Prairie homestead and the National Grasslands Visitors Center as well as Wall Drug.   

Just a few interesting points:  the Badlands got its name from the French trappers and Dakota Indians who said it was a bad land to travel through;  the prairie home was built in 1909 by a family given land through the U.S. Homestead Act; this decommissioned missile site was one of hundreds that were built along the Plains during the Cold War. 

SOME OF THE THINGS TO SEE AT WALL DRUG

JACKALOPE

DON'T CHEAT AT CARDS DOC HOLIDAY SAYS

HE IS ON I-90 

DOWNTOWN WALL SD

BIG SKY KICK OFF FIRST SOCIAL WITH EARLY ARRIVING GUESTS 

OK FOLKS  GET YOUR BEVERAGE FOR ORIENTATION

 ORIENTATION, ANY QUESTIONS? LETS TAKE A BREAK  

SOME "LIGHT" REFRESHMENTS

HEY! TIM, KATHY DON'T FORGET DESSERT

THE PRAIRE HOMESTEAD

JAN, AT THE PRAIRIE HOMESTEAD

NOTE THE SOD WALLS

THE BADLANDS

LONGHORN SHEEP

DECOMMISSIONED MINUTEMAN MISSILE SITE FROM THE COLD WAR ERA WITH RUSSIA 

FIRE CONTROL ROOM

MINUTEMAN SILO WITH DUMMY MISSILE

VISITOR CENTER FOR THE  NATIONAL GRASSLANDS IN WALL, SD

FIRST TRAVEL BRIEF, WE ARE ON THE ROAD THE NEXT MORNING

BEMIDJI, MN TO MEDORA, ND

After we left Grand Portage we stopped for 2 days in Bemidji, MN.  Bemidji is the site of the headwaters of the Mississippi River so, since we were so close, we had to dip our feet into the source of the "mighty Mississip".  We also remembered that it was the home to Paul Bunyon and Babe the Blue Ox.

After Bemidji, we drove into North Dakota with a lunch stop in Fargo and a stay in Jamestown, ND which is referred to as "Buffalo City.  Jamestown is the home of the National Buffalo Museum and a Frontier town. Frontier town was very deserted since it was a Monday and the first day of school for the local kids.  The Buffalo Museum was interesting and brought back what we had learned about the fact that our ancestors had brought this animal to the edge of extinction less than 150 years ago.

We then drove to Medora, North Dakota which is in the western part if the state.  Theodore Roosevelt National Park was not on my radar as a place I had to see but, since we had time to spare, we decided to visit.  After driving the 34 mile loop through the park and seeing the beautiful scenery and the wildlife, both Ken and I were glad that we took the time to visit.  Teddy Roosevelt came there to hunt, fell in love with the area and subsequently, became the "conversationalist president".  He was responsible for naming more national parks, forests and monuments than any other president.

On our final night in Medora we went to the outdoor performance of "Medora Musical".  It told the story of the area and paid tribute to Teddy Roosevelt.  What I thought would be a "corny" performance turned out to be a very enjoyable event.  

ITASCA STATE PARK MINNESOTA THE LOCATION OF THE HEADWATERS OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.

THIS IS THE HEADWATERS OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. WE WERE GOING TO WALK ACROSS THE ROCKS BUT BETTY DIDN'T WANT ME TO FALL IN AS WE DIDN'T HAVE DRY CLOTHES WITH US

FIRST LODGE AT THE PARK BUILT BY THE CCC DURING THE 1930s

BEAUTIFUL INTERIOR DOORWAY

BEMIDJI, MINNESOTA

DO REMEMBER THIS?

JAMESTOWN NORTH DAKOTA

WORLDS LARGEST BUFFALO
NOTE SINCE WE WERE HERE WE HAVE ALSO PASSED THE LARGEST COW AND THE LARGEST SANDHILL CRANE

FRONTIER TOWN

ALBINO BUFFALO
                                                                                           

SHE FINALLY GOT ME UNDER CONTROL

THEODORE ROOSEVELT NATIONAL PARK, SOUTH COMPLEX, MEDORA, NORTH DAKOTA

TEDDY ROOSEVELT'S MALTESE CABIN

 TEDDY ROOSEVELT'S DESK

TRUNK IN CORNER ALSO ROOSEVELT'S

ORIGINAL MALTESE CROSS BRAND OF ROOSEVELT'S USED ON ALL HIS LIVESTOCK

PETRIFIED STUMP OF CYPRESS TREE

ALMOST LOOKS LIKE THE HOODOOS OF GOBLIN VALLEY UTAH

I SEE YOU YES I DO

THIS IS THE SITE OF THE "MEDORA MUSICAL" THIS VENUE IS A MODERN, WELL KEPT FACILITY IN THE NORTH DAKOTA BADLANDS. IT  IS HUNDREDS OF MILES FROM THE NEAREST SIZABLE CITY BUT DRAWS SELLOUT CROWDS THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER. THEY EVEN HAVE AN ESCALATOR TO TAKE YOU FROM THE RIM OF THE CANYON DOWN TO THE SEATING AREA.

AND NOW HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE SHOW

THE BELOW WAS A GUEST ACT CALLED THE CHICAGO BOYZ WHO HAVE MADE VARIOUS PERFORMANCES IN NFL HALFTIME SHOWS AND OTHERS. THE GROUP IS MADE UP OF AT RISK INNER CITY YOUTH. THEIR PERFORMANCE WAS VERY GOOD.

THE TRIBUTE TO TEDDY ROOSEVELT AND THE ROUGH RIDERS

GRAND FINALE