Christmas at Mount Vernon

The weather in DC is weird, in a really, really great way.  It was 60 degrees in early December and the landscaping outside of National Geographic looks like this:

 These flowers survive all winter - FLOWERS!

I bought the annual pass for Mount Vernon, George Washington's Estate overlooking the Potomac, partially so I could easily take visitors there, but mostly so we could go look at the sheep whenever we wanted. 

It turns out that Christmas at Mount Vernon may very well be the best time of year to go.  Not only are they all decked out with trees representing each room in Washington's mansion, but they ship in a camel to commemorate the 1787 Christmas when Washington paid 16 shillings to have an exotic pet on hand for his guests to admire.  It's clear that much of what Washington did was simply for show.  I think he would have much rather been farming than entertaining, but those are the breaks when you're trying to form a brand new country and want the capital to be named after you.

Poor camel - 60 degrees is probably cold for you.

There was another surprise: THE actual turkey that President Obama pardoned this year for Thanksgiving.  He will live a long life with another pardoned turkey in a hut almost as big as our apartment.

 I also enjoyed seeing the 16-sided barn that Washington invented to process his wheat.

 16-Sided Barn

The view of the Potomac is amazing.

Alison watches the geese.

 This gingerbread Mount Vernon replica was created by the head White House Chef.  I stood for a long time wondering if anyone would really miss one of those chocolate sculpted trees.

Cowboy Christmas

December 4th & 5th was a special weekend in Medora.  All winter we put up with frigid temperatures (-31 degrees at one point this week), wind, and the entire town of Medora being shut down except for the Boots Bar & Grill.  Then, for one special weekend, the town wakes up, stores and restaurants open, and locals descend from the hills like locusts for Cowboy Christmas!!

Christmas in the Badlands

Ok, it doesn't get that crowded, but it is probably the most exciting thing that happens all winter.  Well, aside from the ice breaking on the river.  To give you a flavor of the plethora of events, here's the Cowboy Christmas flyer:

Mom came to visit this weekend, so we took full advantage of the free attractions including the Chateau de Mores Interpretive Center, and the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame!  While we shyed away from the freezing hay rides, we did walk 20 feet to the Cowboy Cafe for Oyster Stew and caught half of Bob Peterman's Cowboy Music show.  Poor guy spent half the time complaining that there were no children to sing santa songs to, then proceeded to forget the words to the santa songs once the kids showed up.  All-in-all, a pretty successful show.

Anyway, there are two things that make Cowboy Christmas really special.  The first is "Eats on the Streets", a delicious, town-wide progressive dinner and culinary free-for-all in which you can visit every open shop and visitor center for two hours, stuffing yourself with delicious and largely homemade goodies.  Delicacies include everything from Bison Chili and Red Eye at the Wooly Boys Saloon to Bacon-wrapped Scallops at the Rough Riders hotel.  It's too good.

Second is the Christmas finale.  It's a "Fire & Ice" fireworks show that happens to be lit from the bluff right next to our apartment.  It's really something to hang out and watch fireworks in the snow right from your front porch.  The whole weekend really brightens up December around here and I'm thankful I get to spend my Christmas with the cowboys.