KVRR Connections Tourism: Medora marks a major milestone in North Dakota’s Badlands

MEDORA, N.D. (KVRR) — The most popular tourist attraction in North Dakota is Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

Ranking high on the list is Medora in the south unit of the park and home to the Medora Musical, which just turned 60.

It was started by the man who also brought us Mr. Bubble, Harold Schafer.

KVRR’s TJ Nelson stopped by the celebration.

Welcome to Medora, North Dakota which is celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Medora Musical.

The small town of around 200 balloons in population each summer with tourists from near and far.

At the Chateau de Mores Interpretive Center you can roll like they did 200 years ago. Hitch your fanny to the Badlands Express Stagecoach and take a scenic tour through Medora.

The tourist town is also home to North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame.

Across the street and around town you’ll find plenty of statues including this one of Harry V. Johnston, a Badlands bronco buster from the early 1900s.

And of course, a pre-President Teddy Roosevelt with a plaque that reads “It was here that the romance of my life began.”

This one you can find outside the Old Town Hall Theater.

And what would a wild west town be without a saloon….or a hitching post….or general store established in 1885.

“If you’re looking for good family fun this summer you come here to Medora and take in the musical but before that you have to head over to the pitchfork fondue,” said TJ.

You’ll work up quite an appetite by touring Medora before the meal begins. And here’s what I got: a juicy New York Strip hot off the pitchfork from a steaming barrel of oil, beans, coleslaw, fruit and garlic bread. After the meal, it’s showtime!

“My name is Trent Taber and I’m a Burning Hills Singer in the Medora Musical.

This is Trent Taber’s second year with the musical and his first as a new dad who is performing on very little sleep.

“It finally feels like we’re finally settled into it and just kinda go out there, play around and have fun and make it fresh for us every night. We do 90 something shows over the summer so, it’s fun for us to find ways to keep it interesting,” said Taber.

“We’re so excited to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Medora Musical. Started July 1, 1965, Harold and Sheila had an amazing vision to share the history and the experience of the Badlands with everybody in our area, the state and the world and we can’t be happier to be still here 60 years later and we hope we’re going to be here for another 60 to 100 years doing the exact same thing,” said Clarence Sitter, CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation.

“One of my favorite things to do here at the Medora Musical is what we call a license plate check. So I’m going to walk through and I see Alaska, South Dakota, Kansas, Florida, Georgia. Hopefull you’ve got your bingo cards out and you’re keeping track of all these different states,” said TJ.

“I hope that everybody looks forward to all the future that we’ve got here in Medora,” Sitter said.

Medora is hosting a special Veterans and Military Appreciation Day with a number of events this Sunday including free entry to the musical at 5:30 or 8:30.

Thursday night, TJ takes you inside the under-construction Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, one year before it is set to open.