Day 60 – Lewistown MT to Medora ND – 306 miles

It was an interesting day today. We got off at 8:30 and made the long empty drive across Montana on a straight two-lane road. It went on and on and on. We stopped at a Flying J just over the North Dakota border to get gas and lunch, making it to Medora about 3:00. The landscape in North Dakota is quite impressive – lots of colored buttes and mounds. The campground is adequate, but nothing special, and tonight it is full.

We set up and then went into town to buy tickets for the Medora Musical and the Pitchfork Fondue. I am truly in cowboy land!! The Fondue started at 6:30, and there were hundreds of people there. They ‘fondue’ steaks on pitchforks in huge vats of oil. Everyone stands in line, gets a plate, goes through the sides line: crudités, cole slaw, beans, baked potato, melon, bread, brownie, picks up a steak and eats at one of many picnic tables. They do get everyone through quite quickly. The setting is pretty awesome, up on a mesa overlooking the interesting rock formations.

The Medora Musical is right there next to the Pitchfork Fondue. It has been running for 50 years in various forms. The amphitheater is built into the hills and seats 2600 people. We had seats front row center (not a lot of choices since we bought so late. It was a two hour cowboy/country musical with Teddy Roosevelt, a stranger in town, and a rather disjointed plot, but fairly entertaining. The whole experience was more unique than wonderful.

I have posted some photos in a new set called North Dakota, link at the left.