This is North Dakota???

The first thing Randy said when we crossed the border from Manitoba Canada to North Dakota. “ I didn’t think North Dakota looked like this.”  His first view of the state was of trees and water…not dry and brown the way he expected.  I was even surprised by the color and designs I saw almost everywhere.

One of the main reasons we decided to cross the border back into the US in North Dakota was to travel to Rugby ND – The Geographical Center of North America.  My son had posted about being there and we decided that we would be close enough to work a visit there into our itinerary.  We also logged a geocache close by with the same name.

We spent a few days in Minot ND visiting a friend of Randy’s.  My first impressions of this city were not the best…our RV Park was dreary, most of the golf courses were closed, and worst of all…we couldn’t find a decent place to eat.  The flooding in 2011 devastated most of the city…RV parks and golf courses were under water.  Minot is fighting its way back…but it is long haul for them.  There is a huge influx of construction workers to help rebuild.  They are building a lot of new hotels.  The best thing I found in Minot was the people…the women at the RV park, the girl who cut my hair and the clerk at the fabric store……. but there still isn’t a good place to eat.

After we left Minot we had a few days to spend somewhere and we decided on Medora ND.  I had never heard of this little town and was very surprised when we got there.  The population is only 100 people, but with the huge influx of summer tourists they have to ring in people to help staff the stores.  The town consists of one gas station, no real grocery store, and quite a few touristy type stores. 

Medora is the southern entrance for Teddy Roosevelt National Park.  I didn’t even know this was a National Park. The main point of interest in this park is the wildlife viewing drive in the south unit.  The scenery and the animals are beautiful.  There is a rest area/viewing are along I-90 just east of Medora…definitely worth a stop.