Blazing sun had beat upon us all along the interstate from Regina to Glendive, Montana.  The car's air conditioner barely kept up with the July heat wave hitting us.  We stopped at Sidney for a late lunch and an icy-smoothie beverage.  As we turned onto the highway leading us to North Dakota, we longed for our destination like a camel for an oasis.
Crossing into the next state, we noticed the ranching area and oil-rich land.  And then suddenly, at a curve in the road, were in the Badlands!
To describe this unique topography, one must imagine the prairie becoming a sudden series of layered hills.  A long-ago river had rushed through the area, winding through the bush and earth and rock to erode and expose each layer.  Voila!  Then God created the Badlands and He saw that it was good!
On a whim, we decided to take a few days of our vacation to head to Medora, ND and take in the Medora Musical.  Several years ago, we were introduced to this country-western style variety show by senior friends of ours.  They recommended it as a quick get-away and a lot of fun.  I had my doubts as we were young (ish) and would we really enjoy this outdoor show?
Well, this was our fourth time coming down and it did not disappoint us!  We stayed in modest, bunkhouse accommodations, with our own bathroom and air conditioning.  An outdoor pool was close by and vending machines to sell cold drinks.  We bought tickets to the musical, of course, which would take place in an outdoor natural amphitheater.  And we also purchased tickets for the Pitchfork Fondue supper to be right before the show.  Years ago, we did the fondued steak; this time we tried the chicken, bison and ribs.  Yummy!
The little town has quite a history, and if you go to the museums, you can learn all about the Marquis de Mores, who sought to build a beef cattle slaughtering operation there. He named the town after his wife, Medora, the Marquesa of Mores.  Hard times hit and the thriving community all but disappeared.  Theodore Roosevelt spent time in the region and later, when he was president of the United States, he established a national park in the Badlands region there.  There is much tribute to him in the Musical.  An enterprising man, Harold Schaefer and his wife, developed tourism in the forgotten town in the 1960's and for the past 50 years, much has grown up around the western townsite.
Camping, hiking, trail rides, shopping, eating, and wandering through the museums can keep a person busy for several days.  We have usually gone down for 2 nights and each time, we have discovered new things to see and do.
A highlight for us was to catch the "Painted Canyon" at sunset.  Words cannot capture the beauty, the everchanging shades of colour and shadow in the canyon area as the sun sinks beneath the horizon.  Below are some pictures we took.  Truly, if you haven't seen the Grand Canyon, this is every bit as spectacular, on a smaller scale but just as glorious in displaying God's handiwork in creation!
An added feature this trip was to take in a Gospel Brunch on our last morning.  We were treated to a delicious hot brunch of eggs, hashbrown casserole, smoked ham, bacon and sausage,  plus fruit salad and trays of meat, cheese and fresh pastries.  Oh, and a warm pan of caramel rolls!  Our plates filled, we found our table with a clear view of the stage.  As we finished our meal, the show began.  Some of the cast from the musical were part of the band and Gospel Quartet.  A former host of the musical, Miss Emily, did the narrating about the history of Gospel music and its impact.  An actor/cohost of the musical, Bill Sorenson, gave a "message", which was nearly a sermon in our estimation.  We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and were pleasantly surprised at the Christian element included in the Medora experience.
Did I just write a Tripadvisor commentary?  Ha ha!  I deserve some reward for that!
God gave us a wonderful two weeks of vacation and this last-minute impulse trip was icing on the cake.  It was just what we needed.