Mini Golf Adventures: Little Bully Pulpit Mini Golf

Date of Visit: June 18, 2024

Location: Little Bully Pulpit Mini Golf, Medora, ND

We did not have much time to spend really exploring Medora (and Theodore Roosevelt National Park), but when I found out there was mini golf making sure we played the course was a top priority to fit in.

The theming of Little Bully Pulpit is Medora and North Dakota symbols for the front 9 and the Badlands for the back 9. The variety of holes was fun, especially as each hole had an information sign about what the hole was representing.

As there was a larger group just starting when we were paying for our round, they suggested we cross the street and start with the back 9. When done with the Back 9, we ended up being an even larger group for the front 9 and skipped hole 2 to get ahead of them and then went back to do Hole 2 before doing Hole 9 last. Certainly not how I prefer to play, but we were trying to save time as we still had the Enchanted Highway to do that day and the layout of this course made it not difficult to do out of order.

Hole 1: Medora Musical

Hole 2: Mining

Hole 3: The Tipi

Hole 4: Wind Energy

Hole 5: Dakota Petroleum

Hole 6: Freight Wagon

Hole 7: Maltese Cross Cabin

Hole 8: Meat Packing Plant

Hole 10: Rolling Plains

Hole 11: Petrified Forest

Hole 12: American Bison

Hole 13: Bully Pulpit Golf Course

Hole 14: Wind Canyon

Hole 15: Horseshoes

Hole 16: Cowboy Hat & Boots

Hole 17: Rough Riders

Hole 18: Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Ranger Dan

Final Scores

• Kjersti - 54
• Dad - 52

See full list of our Mini Golf Adventures here.

Enchanted Highway: How We Spent Dad's First Retired Father’s Day

Dad and I spent the first week of Dad’s retirement traveling to the 2024 North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Medora. Father’s Day marked the beginning of his second week of retirement. It started off with a visit to Theodore Roosevelt National Park South Unit and a round of mini-golf at Little Bully Pulpit in Medora before beginning our journey back to Chicago on I-94 to pick up Mik and start his 30th birthday trip.

There was so much more of North Dakota we wanted to explore, but we settled on checking out the Enchanted Highway as it was right along the route. The Enchanted Highway is a series of large metal sculptures leading to the town of Regent. Not part of the Enchanted Highway, but as we continued on I-94 we also stopped at the largest Holstein cow, sandhill crane, and buffalo.

The first sculpture, Geese in Flight, is actually visible from I-94 as it is right at Exit 72. This sculpture holds the Guinness World Record for Largest Scrap Metal Sculpture.

Along the road as you approach the parking area for the sculpture, there are Geese sculptures.

Next was Deer Crossing.

At this stop we noticed The Maze of Enchantment. We later found many of the sculptures had an associated activity for children (of all ages).

Then there were Grasshoppers.

And a ride on a grasshopper.

As we were pulling out of the parking lot for the Grasshoppers we also happened to catch a glimpse of the North Dakota state bird, a Western Meadowlark.

Our next stop was Dad’s favorite, Fisherman’s Dream.

At this stop there was a boat run aground that you could climb aboard.

Our next encounter was Pheasants on the Prairie. As we drove to the next stop, we even saw an actual Ring Necked Pheasant crossing the road.

Then there was my favorite, Teddy Roosevelt Rides Again.

Here there was a stagecoach you could climb up into.

Just before arriving in Regent was Tin Family.

The journey ends in Regent at a Gift Shop and Wirly Gigs.

The clerk in the gift shop told us to check out the next sculpture at the end of the road, Sir Albert slaying a Dragon. For more details about the Enchanted Highway, visit the Enchanted Highway website.

After getting back on I-94, our next stop was in New Salem, ND to see Salem Sue, which is the World's Largest Holstein Cow.

Next stop was the World's Largest Sandhill Crane in Steele, ND.

Last stop sightseeing in North Dakota was the World's Largest Buffalo in Jamestown, which was built the same year Dad was born.

Whirla Whip, Stanley, ND

I have been hoping for a chance to get a Whirla Whip every summer since Grandma Kjos died in 2017, but we never manage to plan the trip to scatter her ashes. I had already given up on this summer being the summer. While it is another year we are not scattering her ashes, on our way to Medora for the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, we squeezed in a 6 hour detour to Stanley for a Whirla Whip at Dakota Drug.

I got vanilla ice cream with root beer hard candy.

Dad got vanilla ice cream with maraschino cherry and cheesecake mixed in.

While in Stanley, we also stopped at the Fairview Cemetery to visit some gravesites of Mom’s relatives. I remembered the location of the gravesites of my great-grandparents. It took some searching, but we eventually located the gravesite of our homesteading relative, Mary Kate Anderson.

Mini Golf Adventures: Hawaiian Rumble Golf

Date of Visit: March 18, 2024

Location: Hawaiian Rumble Golf, North Myrtle Beach, SC

There are so many mini golf places in the Myrtle Beach area that we still haven't visited that it is always hard to decide which to try next. Thus, Nora helped me make a jar of paper slips of all the places I have not been to and drew one out of it to decide which one to try this day.

We enjoyed the Hawaiian theme, especially how each hole had a Hawaiian name with the English translation. The volcano erupting every once in awhile was also fun. The orca whale spraying and the wind making it hard not to get wet was not so much appreciated. Nora also enjoyed feeding the turtles. The rescue birds by the entrance were also interesting.

Final Scores

• Nora - 56
• Kjersti - 52

See full list of our Mini Golf Adventures here.