We slept in and when we awoke, the bison herds were still fresh in our thoughts and thus the topic of conversation over pancake breakfast. The rain that had passed through and the clear skies meant it was going to be a very hot and humid day at the campground. After five days of dry camping the batteries on the coach were barely alive, the water tank was low and the holding tanks high. And there was one more night to get through before heading to the Badlands.

We visited Medora once again and toured the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame, half of which is an historical snapshot of North Dakota, the town of Medora and the Native American tribes. The film was pretty good if not a little hokey (but honestly, movies in museums should be a little hokey), and provided a solid overview of the region and founding of the town. Most importantly to the boys, it was air-conditioned. We walked the town in search of postcards, stickers and books. Almost everyone we ran into in the town promoted “Medora Musical,” a full-on theatrical song & story about the founding of Medora and the growth of North Dakota. We did not see the production.

For lunch we visited the Badlands Pizza and Saloon, easily the best meal and service we’d had in Medora. Despite the heat and the insects, we sat outside so Timber could join us.  Our friendly waitress Kristina, a Russian native and self-declared rabbit-owner, brought Timber a bowl of cold water and shared with us her experiences in the work exchange program that hosted her in Medora.

Another drive around the loop under much clearer skies gave the park an entirely new look – and gave Timber an opportunity to sleep and cool off. A brief stop at the park’s information center where we saw a large petrified tree stump and picked up postcards. It was a hot night, the kind in the Midwest in which the air is still and humid. We eventually returned to the coach, ate dinner and played a game of Risk till the heat finally dissipated enough for sleeping.