August 22, 2009

Theodore Roosevelt NP scenic loop and Medora Musical

This morning we took the scenic loop through the south unit of the park.  Yesterday we asked at the visitor center where we might see wildlife.  Other than prairie dogs they weren’t too positive about seeing much.  Evidently wildlife here is scarce and skittish.  Well, the scenery was still there anyway.

As we left the campground, before we got to the main road, we saw this.

And eight or ten of his friends.

Like the Grand Canyon, it is hard to take pictures of the Badlands.  They go on forever it seems and, unlike the Grand Canyon they are all around you.  The colored layers are amazing and they carry throughout the whole area.  Black, red, white, blue, brown, and other color layers at the same level for square miles.  This picture doesn’t begin to do justice.

 

From the top of a hill we got a good example of how climate affects the plant life.  Note how north facing slopes have green trees while the south facing slopes have almost no plant life.

 

About half way through the loop we saw this.

Those are wild horses.

Further on the loop we climbed a hill.

View from hill.

If you click on this picture to see it close up you will see lots of bison.  More than a hundred.  We passed several herds like this.  In the loop we probably saw two to three hundred.

We drove that road in the distance.  Here is what we saw.

This is not a telephoto picture.

This guy probably modeled for the nickel.

One of thousands.

In the evening we went to see the Medora Musical.  This tiny little tourist town that basically is open only in the summer has a highly professional outdoor theater that seats thousands probably and puts on a nightly non-stop two hour performance that has been rated by some as the best outdoor musical show in the country.  It was suggested to us by our friends, Audrey and Gerry Mueller.  She said we ‘had’ to go see it. 

The basic set is static but on tracks so it can be opened up to bring in other sets or for dramatic effect.

The set can pull back to each side from the opening where the banner is.  Behind the set is nothing but the North Dakota Badlands.  I didn’t get pictures but they use the backdrop to maximum effect.  At several times in the show they open the stage up and light the hills with red light.  Pretty awesome.  This area is all  about Teddy Roosevelt.  At one point during a tribute they have a lone rider on a white horse walk along the ridge to the upper right and then down the slope in the center.  This is in pitch black with only a blue spot on the rider.  VERY cool.  Here are a couple shots of the show.

There is a part of the show that features guest artists.  We had the Peking Acrobats. 

They even reenact the charge up San Juan Hill with riders coming up from the black area in the middle of the lower picture. (Different set)

We had a great two hours of entertainment.  Thank you Audrey!