Cranberries, Feral Horses, Wild Buffalo, Pitchfork Steaks and Music!

by Dan · July 2, 2022

Try if you can imagine what the five items above have in common. Well, four are available in Medora ND and the fourth we saw on the way there.

Let’s start with cranberries, after leaving Whistle Stop RV Park, we are headed to a Walmart in Fergus Falls ND where we will park for the night and catch up with friends from Whisper Creek in Labelle FL. On the route Judy found the Wisconsin Cranberry Discovery Center so of course we had to stop. Little did I know how interesting it would be. Wisconsin is the largest cranberry producers in the country. Growing in a sandy type of soil, not flooded bogs, a plant starts producing fruit in about three years and it can produce for up to 100 years. One intriguing winter practice to help protect and nourish the plants the farmer will flood the fields until the plants are covered with water which then freezes over them. Once the water freezes to a thickness that will support itself the water is drained off beneath the ice and the farmer continues to build the ice to a thickness of twelve inches or more, after that a layer of sand is spread on top of the ice. In the spring the ice melts allowing the sand to fall on the plant beds adding soil and nutrients to the plant. This little discovery center takes about an hour to see but well worth the stop.

In the Fergus Falls Walmart parking lot, someone was travelling in this trailer.

After our visit in Fergus Falls, we are headed for Medora MT where we will meet up with friends for the evening and visit the area for a few days. On the first day we are introduced to Theodore Roosevelt National Park where our late day visit to the park allowed us to see a herd of approximately 50 feral horses. I am not sure what the difference is between wild horses and feral horses is, but I was assured the horses were not wild.

This is but a few of the horses we saw before it got dark.

The next morning, we said goodbye to our friends and then went back to TRNP for more exploration. Today we found out that they too have a Centralia PA type coal mine fire. I don’t know how long it has been burning but the smoke was visible from vents. Once upon a time the road went all the way around the park but fortunately for us it was closed so we had to drive a long way in and the come back out the same way. As we neared the visitor center, we came up on a large herd of Buffalo. Shortly after stopping Judy realized the herd was heading toward the road, so to reduce the risk of getting blocked in we drove past the herd and parked again. The herd came almost to the road and stopped for a photo opp. One young buffalo actually came up to a park bench and started scratching his head, Way to close for my comfort but there were several bodies between me and it.

Now let me tell you about pitchfork steaks and music. Medora is a very small town in North Dakota that has grown into must see area. The history of the area almost solely revolves around two men. First Teddy Roosevelt and secondly Harold Schafer of Billings MT. Harold was the owner of the Gold Seal Company, which is known for Glass Wax and Mr. Bubble. In a failed business venture, he became the owner of a rundown hotel Medora. Instantly Harold fell in love with the area and started developing the little sleepy town. The area of just a few hundred full time residents grows into a pretty good-sized town full of tourist and summer workers who help support the area museums and attractions. Two of the more interesting attractions are the Pitchfork Fondue Steak dinner and then the Medora Musical. Harold thought the area could support a music venue which he and his wife started several decades ago and today it is one of the best shows, of this type, I have ever seen.

But first we had to eat dinner and that is where I enjoyed one of the best steak dinners I have eaten. The meal consisted of a 12-ounce steak cooked in a very large fondue pot on a pitchfork, coleslaw, baked beans, garlic bread, lemon-aid or water and dessert of brownies and donuts. Except for the steak it was all one could eat too! I am not sure what liquid was in the fondue pots, but the meat was very tasty.