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The Burning Hills<br />
Amphitheater<br />
There is simply nothing like it in the Midwest, from the hilltop<br />
parking lot, an escalator moves visitors <strong>com</strong>fortably down seven<br />
stories into the natural bowl of the amphitheater. There are<br />
convenient rest rooms, large concessions, easy walkways and<br />
wide aisles.<br />
The amphitheater holds 2,800 people, all seated in individual<br />
stadium-style seats with back rests. The seats can be reserved<br />
in advance, no waiting in long lines for tickets in Medora anymore.<br />
The stage is spacious enough to hold a posse of 40 horses<br />
should they be necessary in the musical. The Main Street set<br />
evokes the historic cowtown heritage of Medora. The set opens<br />
in the middle during the show to reveal a spectacular view of<br />
the Badlands. The moving set allows the stage to retain a town<br />
like appearance and when fully open features tributes to<br />
Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders and American Indians<br />
played on the surrounding hillsides.<br />
The lighting and sound system are technical achievements<br />
that gives the amphitheater both concert hall acoustics and the<br />
ability to bathe a nearby hillside in rich light to create moods for<br />
the musical.<br />
The Medora Musical is a Broadway style song and dance<br />
show that honors Theodore Roosevelt, a one time Badlands<br />
rancher and 26th President who is credited with advancing the<br />
conservation movement and development of American national<br />
park system. The show is a mixture of song, <strong>com</strong>edy, western<br />
heritage and a dash of patriotism.<br />
Where City Slickers<br />
Be<strong>com</strong>e Rough Riders<br />
Medora is the place for City Slickers hankerin’ for a taste of<br />
the Old West! Historic Medora is the authentically restored<br />
pioneer cattle town at the south entrance to Theodore Roosevelt<br />
National Park. It was in Medora that a young Theodore<br />
Roosevelt found his “perfect freedom” riding though the<br />
savagely beautiful Badlands. Today, Medora offers families a<br />
<strong>com</strong>plete and rewarding vacation experience.<br />
Anyone wanting to sample cowboy life can saddle up and<br />
ride into the rugged Badlands of Theodore Roosevelt National<br />
Park.<br />
For those inclined to browse, hangout, shop and relax,<br />
Medora offers a variety of unique gift emporiums, galleries and<br />
museums.<br />
Or you can just unwind and find your own Perfect Freedom<br />
in the authenticaly restored American West.<br />
7<br />
ND Cowboy Hall of Fame<br />
This interpretive center explores the history of Native Americans,<br />
ranching, rodeo and the western lifestyle of the northern<br />
plains horse culture and the Badlands. The $4 million facility<br />
features a Hall of Honorees, an interpretive center with permanent<br />
and traveling western culture exhibits, and a 55-seat theater<br />
with an award-winning video presentation. The building<br />
also offers a gift shop, multipurpose meeting area, full patio,<br />
archives section and library, as well as a children’s activity area.<br />
Adults $6.50; Seniors and CANDISC $5; Children 12 & under<br />
$4<br />
Medora Dollhouse<br />
In the Medora Dollhouse you will see things of interest other<br />
than dolls. It houses toys of all kinds, banks, books, doll houses<br />
and many more thing, which have belonged to boys and girls<br />
of yester-years.<br />
The adults probably enjoy the exhibit more than the children.<br />
It is a fascinating way to study history. Each case tells a story of<br />
long ago childhood and their precious play things.<br />
Plus a unique, old quilt collection including a rare one woven<br />
with wool, linen and cotton threads.<br />
The Bully Spirit<br />
The effect of the land on the man was amazing even to<br />
Theodore Roosevelt himself. In fact, he went so far as to say<br />
that had he not <strong>com</strong>e West as a young man, he might never<br />
have be<strong>com</strong>e president of these United States.<br />
As he wrote, “the romance of my life began” when he took<br />
up the life of the cowboy on the Dakota range in 1883. It’s a<br />
story every child in North Dakota knows, one that has been<br />
passed down through the years, generation after generation.<br />
But with all the telling, the story still rings true ... Roosevelt’s life<br />
in the Badlands had a profound effect on him, as profound an<br />
effect as he had on the nation.<br />
The cowboys who rode with Roosevelt saw the<br />
transformation take place, saw a “dude” be<strong>com</strong>e a man of pure<br />
bone, muscle and grit. But the real change came from within,<br />
as Roosevelt’s unbridled zest for life, his “Bully spirit,” asserted<br />
itself in everything he said and did.<br />
Roosevelt came to believe that he could ac<strong>com</strong>plish anything<br />
. . . ride for forty hours without sleep, survive a stampede, break<br />
horses that refused to be tamed, and take care of those who<br />
pushed him too far. Later, he was prepared to take on world<br />
issues with equal gusto, “to speak softly but carry a big stick.”<br />
Will the oft-told tale of Theodore Roosevelt repeat itself<br />
Will the Badlands have the same kind of amazing effect on<br />
other individuals Will it instill that “Bully Spirit” that stirs on to<br />
greatness It happened one hundred years ago. With your help,<br />
it can happen again.
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