Did you miss the Medora Trip or just want to know what the other team did? If yes then this is the article for you! National parks, a musical, mini golf, hiking… and over three hundred eighth graders. On the morning of Friday September 13th, every eighth grader from Horizon Middle School was preparing to leave for a 9 hour field trip to Medora. Days before leaving, all eighth graders knew of the trip, including Nathan Pitcher. When asked what he would like to do, he said,  “I hope we can go hiking and go to other attractions." In a large survey, about 63% of students had similar thoughts to Nate, saying they were excited to go. Only 6% of students said they were not looking forward to the trip. In another section of the survey, 79% of students going on the trip had been to Medora before, meaning this would be a new experience for 21% of eighth graders. Hopes were high, and expectations needed to be met.

Both 8th grade teams had left Horizon during homebase at 8:30. The two teams, Dream and Phoenix, were on buses ready to make the two hour trek to Medora. Snacks and water bottles in hand, phones in pockets, all eighth graders were ready to make the anticipation filled  journey to Medora.

The ride was a long one. It took two hours to get to Medora. Luckily, some buses stopped at Painted Canyon, where students could admire the natural beauty and take a fifteen minute break  before getting back on the road. Unfortunately, students quickly noticed one of the buses, bus 29, hadn’t yet arrived. The bus only met up with other students over an hour later, missing part of the Phoenix hike in Theodore Roosevelt National Park due to breaking down.

One of the first activities of the day was a bus ride and hike in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, an activity enjoyed by students on team Phoenix. Meanwhile, team Dream went on a different hike, a point to point hike. While Dream only planned on going half the distance of the trail before turning back and going mini golfing, some of the groups instead walked the entirety of the trail, skipping mini golfing.

After teams were finished with their morning fun, all students were back on buses to go to eat lunch. After diminishing their hunger with hotdogs, chips, fruit, and cookies, students listened to a speaker talk about construction on the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library. The building architecture took inspiration from the land around it, meaning it will have a curved roof with grasses and shrubs on top. The Presidential Library construction is planned to be finished on July 4, 2026, marking the 250th anniversary of the United States being an independent country.

When lunch was over, students had to reboard buses and head to their next destination. For team Phoenix, this meant buses 3 and 4 went to Theodore Roosevelt National Park for a hike and guided tour, whereas buses 1 and 2 went to the Chateau de Mores, a summer house and hunting cabin owned by the Marquis de Mores, followed by the Cowboy Hall of Fame. 

Meanwhile, Dream buses 5 and 6 toured the Schafer Center, and had a behind the scenes tour of Medora’s most popular attraction, the Medora Musical. Buses 7 and 8, also on team Dream, went on the point to point hike to finish off their day.

Dreaded by many, awaited by few, the day was drawing to a close. Buses were loaded and on their way to Bismarck. Although students were not thrilled about the long ride back, many ended up having fun on the trip overall. In a survey taken the week following the Medora trip, almost 75% of students said they enjoyed the trip overall, while less than 6% of people said they hated the trip.

Hopefully teachers look at this as a reason to take next year’s eighth graders on the same trip, and current seventh graders know what to expect for next year. The trip was a huge success overall, and maybe you could take a trip to Medora as well.