Medora, ND

Wednesday, September 21, 2022

We’re on the road again! Yesterday, Andi, Tory, Aden and I left our home in northwestern Wisconsin around 3:30pm and drove as far as Fergus Falls, MN before we decided to stop for the night. There were several campgrounds in the area that sounded appealing, but we weren’t looking for accommodations with activities — just a place where we could pull in to park for the night without unhooking the Jeep from the RV, and then roll out again early the next morning without having to talk to anyone. That’s when camping at Walmart fits the bill.

Heading out!

I had to laugh when, at one point during our drive, I couldn’t find Aden. That sounds ridiculous since we were all four traveling in the same 25’ RV and hadn’t made any stops. I mean, there’s not very many places for one to hide in here! I checked Tory’s bed above the cab, the dining room table area converted to a flat bed, and glanced over at the toilet in the bathroom. No Aden. Seriously, where did he go?! It took me a few seconds more to find him lounging in the shower playing Roblox with his cousin Finleigh on Facebook Kids Messenger. I guess when you’re traveling in a small RV with your family there aren’t many options for privacy.

Drive days are always a good time for a lesson in geography. Aden wanted to know where we were in MN, and how close we were to Nebraska, so we pulled out the atlas to discuss our travel route.

Once we arrived at the Fergus Falls Walmart, we found a parking spot amongst many other semi trucks who had the same idea to park there overnight. Listening to those big trucks idling all night isn’t our favorite place to camp, but there weren’t many options for parking in the small store lot. The good thing is, once we close the window shades in the RV, it feels like home no matter where we are. Gorgeous mountaintop overlook or a Walmart parking lot; inside the comforts of our motorhome, it’s all the same. Andi took Tory and Aden into Walmart to do a quick walk-around the store while I stayed back in the RV and enjoyed the first 15 minutes of alone time I’ve had in weeks!

Thursday, September 22

We left Fergus Falls, MN around 6:30am this morning and got back on the interstate. Andi and I settled into the front cab of our motorhome for a morning of driving wile Tory and Aden continued to sleep in their beds. That’s the beauty of traveling in a Class C motorhome! It’s so easy to get up and go without a lot of steps to complete & the kids can stay sleeping in their beds for as long as they wish. Though, I’m not sure how soundly Aden can stay asleep when his bed literally moves with the RV slide as it closes for transport.

By 9:00am, we arrived in Jamestown, North Dakota and decided to stop at a park so the kids could do their schoolwork and Andi could make a few phone calls. Today is officially the first day of fall and it felt like it outside! The air temperature was 55 degrees in Jamestown this morning. Nevertheless, Aden happily rode his bike around the paving parking lot. About 30 minutes later, it was time for schoolwork. We had one of those “good days” where everyone completed their work without a complaint.

Andi and I had to laugh as the four of us shuffled around each other in the RV trying to complete our various morning tasks — none of us are used to cohabitating in a small space yet, and kept bumping into one around in the RV. “Excuse me, I need to grab something stored underneath your seat” or “Hey, would you mind siting over there? Your video is kind of loud and I can’t concentrate.” It always takes a few days for the four of us to get back into the groove of traveling together.

Andi suggested we go out to lunch at a Japanese restaurant called Izuma before we left Jamestown, which sounded appetizing to 3/4 of us. (Sorry Tory, you were over-ruled). The restaurant had an all-you-can-eat lunch menu which amazed Aden. “So you mean we can order wherever we want to eat?!” We feasted on egg rolls, edamame, vegetable tempura, cheese rangoons, sushi rolls, and chicken teriyaki with udon noodles. Tory didn’t care for most of the menu items, but Aden ate enough for the both of them! He is a growing boy and loves Asian food. Andi, Tory and Aden finished the meal with fried Oreos and ice cream. We were stuffed!

Back on the road, Andi and I took turns driving across the state of North Dakota toward the town of Medora. Luckily, it wasn’t too windy today which made the drive west much more enjoyable.

Andi and I planned to camp at Theodore Roosevelt National Park for the night. When we arrived, I was surprised to see how busy the park’s Cottonwood Campground was on an off-season weeknight. We secured the last available “first come, first served” campsite. We visited this national park for the first time in 2019 and really enjoyed the peacefulness of the prairie landscape and all the animal sightings. The small town of Medora is neat in and of itself, and is well known for its famous Medora Musical. Unfortunately, the musical is now closed for the 2022 season, but we did have a chance to see it live during our last visit to the area.

First visit in Sept 2019 / & now in Sept 2022

Andi and I decided to take the kids for a drive through the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Two hours before sunset, we hoped to see lots of animals. Unfortunately, a large portion of the 48-mile scenic loop is closed due to road erosion but we were still able to drive several miles around the Wind Canyon area. We stopped to watch the prairie dogs bop in and out of their holes and saw several buffalo and mule deer grazing across the prairie. Proud mama/teacher moment listening to Aden read the informational signage posted in the pull-off areas about the prairie dog habitat.

Andi said he couldn’t figure out why he was so hungry after the big lunch we ate in Jamestown, but then we remembered that we’d crossed into the Mountain Time Zone at some point during our drive across North Dakota and our bodies really thought it was an hour later than the clock told us it was. The four of us headed back to our campsite at Cottonwood Campground and made dinner. We’d planned on grilling burgers before Andi realized that he forgot the cord that connects the grill to the propane tank on the RV at home. Oops! Andi and I made sloppy joe meat and steamed carrots on the RV stove instead.

Andi downloaded a few family-friendly TV shows on Netflix, but Tory and Aden kept arguing about what type of show they each wanted to watch. So, we made the parental decision to turn off devices and find other activities to occupy the remainder of our evening. Tory and I finished the oil pastels art project she was working on earlier in the day, and then Aden decided he wanted to draw a picture with pastels as well. The kids journaled about their favorite parts of our first day in the RV (Aden’s was eating at the Japanese restaurant in Jamestown; Tory’s was the prairie dogs), and then we concluded our evening reading books about Lewis & Clark’s Westward Expedition since we’ll be traveling along many of the same routes the explorers did our fall RV trip.

Tomorrow, we’re hoping to do a short hike in Theodore Roosevelt National Park and then continue on our way toward Montana.