DEADWOODJack Daniels Street - not too hard to get a man's beverage here. Pleep insisted on the shot glass with bottle on the bar approach. We found out he's been watching the Western Cowboy Channel at the hotel all night. He seems to have picked up a lot of the cowboy habits from the movies.
Pleep thinks the bikers might be considered modern day cowboys.
In many ways they seem to symbolize the wild, anything goes spirit that settled the west. He wanted to get his own set of "colors" but we managed to convince him that wasn't a good idea. Boca told him it would restrict his ability to move freely among the various groups plus it would keep him out of the very bars he wanted to hang out in. He had to settle for a patch which he decided not to sew onto his monkey skin.Pleep and Bub
a kept checking out the bikes. There were a lot of ones that caught their attention. The custom paint jobs were amazing. Pleep spotted several great "Babe Bikes". He told Buba to buy one and then get Bocahontas to pose for the paint job. Buba was less than enthusiastic about the idea of having Boca's face & torso painted on a Harley. Pleep insists that with a little airbrushing Bocahontas on the fuel tank would look very cool and every bit as nice as this lady.
They weren't certain if this one could even qualify as a bike. Buba thought not and that he wouldn't want to drive into Deadwood in it. We'll probably be home before the sound of Harley's stop ringing in our ears. Vrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrooooooooooooooooom!
Today Pleep dragged us into the Cowboy Hall Of Fame. He aspires to be a cowboy and keeps playing with the IPOD to play Willie Nelson songs. We've been subjected to "My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys" about 100 times so far this morning. He wants us to buy him the full kit - hat, chaps, lasso, holster, Colt 45. Bocahontas keeps responding with her version of "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys" in which she substitutes Monkeys for Babies. Buba has resorted to ear plugs.
The North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame is the interpretive center for the history of Native Americans, ranching, rodeo, and the western lifestyle of the plains and Badlands. Here, the culture and legacy that is the character of the Great American West will be sa
ved for future generations. Designed by Bismarck architect Arnie Hanson, the 15,000-square-foot building, with a 5,000- square-foot patio, is located in downtown Medora, North Dakota, at the gate to the Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
The $3-million facility features a Hall of Honorees, an interpretive center with permanent and traveling western culture exhibits, a 45-seat theater and a multipurpose meeting area for use by visiting groups. The building also has a gift shop, an archives section and library, as well as a children’s activity area and an outside patio with an awesome view of the Little Missouri River and the North Dakota Badlands.
Display areas interpret and honor Native Americans, trail drivers, homesteaders, ranchers and rodeo stars.
The Hall of Fame is fittingly located in Medora and the Badlands, where the “bully” spirit of an American President was discovered and where the feeling of the American West still lives. In 1884, Teddy Roos
evelt began ranching near the site of the Cowboy Hall of Fame. The young man with the Eastern accent and glasse
s was called “Old Four Eyes,” but he earned the grudging respect of the cowboys and learned that he possessed a character that would one day propel him to the White House.
Driving through the Badlands is remarkable; the scenery and isolation combine for a remarkable experience. Pleep never tires of looking out the window. In fact, he made Buba pull over and get
the Windex out. Pleep insists on clean windows all the way around the car. The bug kills make this a constant task for Buba. Pleep uses the pit stop time to chase the prairie dogs. Where do they go? Do you think it's safe to follow them into the tunnels? Will it be like the Wind Cave? Can you hunt the little buggers? They are about the right size for Pleep to use for target practice.
National ParkTheodore Roosevelt first came to the badlands on a hunting trip in September 1883. He was enchanted by the landscape and its wildlife. TR invested in two cattle ranches, the Maltese Cross (check the pic below) and the Elkhorn. The experience was influential on his life, philosophy, and politics. "I never would have been President if it had not been for my experiences in North Dakota," he said.
When twenty-four-year-old Theodore Roosevelt stepped off the train in Dakota Territory in September 1883, he broug
ht with him a keen sense of adventure and wonderment. Today, the park provides an opportunity to learn about an environment and way of life that helped shape Theodore Roosevelt's attitudes and philosophy regarding conservation.The Badlands Of Theodore Roosevelt National Park: The colorful Little Missouri River Badlands provides the scenic backdrop to the park which memorializes the 26th president for his enduring contributions to the conservation of our nation's resources. Pleep now wants to get some glasses.....oy.
