SKI Vacation Part 3 of 3
From Tacoma, we drove to Spokane Valley and stayed at a Super 8. The next day, we drove to Bozeman, MT staying again at the Super 8 with TNT checking us in. The evening meal was at The Garage. Keren once again served a great breakfast. Wednesday night, we stayed at the Comfort Inn in Glendive, MT.
Thursday, we arrived in the Badlands of North Dakota and stayed in Medora. Medora would be a good destination for a two to four day vacation. We toured Theodore Roosevelt National Park — a 36-mile scenic drive. We saw wild horses, prairie dogs, antelope, bluebirds, buffalo, a bull buffalo dusting plus great scenic views.
Genie did some shopping while I took a nap. In the evening, we drove to the Bully Pulpit Golf Course. It is an 18-hole course with unreal tees, greens and views. You golfers must play this course. You non-golfers must see this course right in the middle of the Badlands. When they found out we were from Minnesota, I was given a Pinnacle golf ball stamped “Bully Pulpit.” Wow! The reason for “bully” is President Theodore Roosevelt said “bully” a lot.
In the evening, we attended the Medora Musical in an outdoor amphitheatre. The setting was very unusual. The weather was great. The musical was excellent. This was truly a great experience. Medora can be driven to in a long day or two short days from Southern Minnesota.
We noticed many things worth mentioning. Following are some of them:
If you bring a boat into Idaho, on the freeway, you must stop for a watercraft inspection.
The view going east on I-90 out of Coeur D’Alene, ID looking over the lake is spectacular.
The convention center setting in Spokane, WA is very nice. There is a river and a walking path alongside, plus picnic facilities. It was the site of a World’s Fair.
The body has a tough time to jump two hours ahead and two hours back in a two week period.
We paid a low of $3.41 in Wyoming and high of $3.91 in Washington for gas.
At a Cenex gas station in Dickinson, ND, you could order food from McDonald’s next door. The food would be delivered to you at Cenex. You could put the gas and food all on one bill and pay at Cenex.
We saw mesh outdoor billboards on I-94 in North Dakota. The letters or whatever you want is clamped onto the mesh. The advantage is the neat appearance, plus the ease of changing what is on the billboard.
North Dakota has more than three trees. This is most certainly true!
North Dakota has large metal sculptures along what they call “The Enchanted Highway.” We saw one called “Geese in Flight.” There are 10 geese all made from scrap metal. Seeing is believing.
Going to Seattle from southern Minnesota by auto is the same distance whether you travel I-90 or I-94.
The countryside is green all the way to the west coast. Even the sage brush is green.
The rivers, ponds and lakes were overflowing from eastern Washington to just west of Minneapolis when we came back.
We saw big bags along I-94 in low points on the freeway to keep water off the freeway. Water was up to Amtrak rails in many Montana and North Dakota locations.
In playing the license plate game, we saw every state but three. (Vermont, Rhode Island and Mississippi weren’t seen.)
The antelope population is much, much lower because of a hard winter. Antelope have mainly only three predators: Ford, Chevrolet and the weather.
We did a very good job of doing what you’re supposed to do on a SKI vacation.
— — —
Bob is a retired AAL (Aid Association for Lutherans) agent. His wife, Genie, is a retired RN, currently working on her doctor’s degree in volunteering. They have two children, Deb in North Carolina, and Dan in Vermont. This is the Hanson’s 36th summer at Beaver Lake. They leave the lake in mid-October to go south — to Albert Lea — and return in April. Bob says if you enjoy his article, let him know. If you don’t enjoy it, keep on reading, it can get worse. Words of Wisdom: There is always room for God.