'Eye of the Needle Ride'
Our last ride was what we called the "eye of the needle ride." If you have time for only one ride, this is it. At about 12.4 miles, this ride has everything: scenery, buffalo, prairie dogs, wild horses, petrified trees, and a curious natural formation.
We started the loop at the Jones Creek trailhead about one mile north of the Peaceful Valley horse concession. Riding the one mile back to Peaceful Valley on a connecting trail, we then turned east following the Lower Paddock Creek Trail.
Almost immediately after starting the Lower Paddock Trail, we encountered a large group of widely dispersed buffalo. They stretched from rough hillsides on the left to a muddy stream on the right. Carefully, we angled our horses through wide spaces in the herd, keeping as far as possible from each buffalo.
A few miles later we came to the "eye of the needle." This curious formation isn't readily seen from the trail. Keep looking to your left. You may see it most easily after you pass it. In that case, turn back and look for a small trail turning off. The "eye" is about one-quarter mile from the main trail and is actually a small rock arch large enough to ride a horse through. Take time to photograph members of your party riding through the "eye."
About 4.4 miles from Peaceful Valley, the Lower Paddock Creek Trail connects with a park road. Turn left and follow the road for about a half mile. Where the road turns to the right, look to the valley going left. Work your way up this valley searching for the trail and trail markers. In a mile the trail connects with the Lower Talkington Trail. Turn left here; in 1.8 miles, you'll connect with the Jones Creek Trail. From this point, you have it made. Go left; in 3.5 miles, you'll arrive back at your starting point. Watch along the way for petrified tree stumps and piles of petrified rocks that look like freshly chopped wood.
Grand Finale
To put a grand finale on our stay at the beautiful, eerily shaped badlands, we went to a Pitchfork Fondue and, believe it or not, a musical show. The Pitchfork Fondue starts with an 11-ounce rib-eye steak cooked "cowboy style" on the end of a pitchfork. Add to your plate some baked potatoes, beans, coleslaw, breads, dessert, and beverages, and you have a meal befitting the surrounding vast Dakota landscape.
After dinner, wander a short distance to the 2,900-seat outdoor amphitheater for the professionally produced musical extravaganza known as the Medora Musical. Each night throughout the summer, the musical is performed with the North Dakota Badlands as its backdrop. This high-energy Broadway-style show combines singing, dancing, comedy, and nationally known variety acts. An enjoyable, patriotic portion of the show is dedicated to Theodore Roosevelt. Our time in the Badlands had come to an end. The area's scenic trails, wildlife, sweeping vistas, and mysterious beauty compel us to return again someday. As the sun set across the North Dakota sky, we thought of Roosevelt's words, "The badlands grade all the way from those that are almost rolling in character to those that are so fantastically broken in form and so bizarre in color as to seem hardly properly to belong to this earth."
