The North Dakota Tour
Group welcomes you to come to �The Gateway to the Old West� for the 2006 National
Salers Tour, October 5-7, 2006. You will not only want to visit some great North
Dakota purebred and commercial ranches, but also see the Badlands and Theodore
Roosevelt National Park on your way! The Badlands....some call it �The Land God
Forgot�, others call it one of the most mysterious and beautiful places on Earth,
still others liken its rugged terrain and awe inspiring rock formations to a
lunar landscape. No matter what one sees in the Badlands, one thing is for certain...�This
broken country has been called always, by Indians, French voyagers, and American
trappers alike, the Badlands.� - Theodore Roosevelt.
For those wishing to take-in a riverboat ride on the mighty Missouri River, the
tour activities will begin on Thursday, October 5, at 5:00 PM central time
in the breakfast room of the host motel, Bismarck Expressway Inn. This is your
opportunity to take a unique ride on the river of Lewis and Clark, Sacagawea
and Sitting Bull in elegance and comfort on the Lewis and Clark Riverboat for
dinner. You won't want to miss this Missouri River cruise that won the 2006
North Dakota Tourist Attraction of the Year Award!
Bright and early at 7 a.m. on Friday, October 6, the bus will be headed for MacDonald
Ranches where breakfast will be served. After breakfast you will tour their �Performance
Power Genetics� and see their prominent purebred Salers and Optimizer composite
breeding program. See their potent herd sire lineup including MAC Navigator
281N, S Nebraska 330N, MAC Lennox 314L and Big Sky Triton 40R. Also featured
at their tour stop will be a look at some of the great females of their breeding
program such as BEV Emma 262E, MAC Black Flora 6F and MAC Jellybean 44J.
Lunch time will have already arrived when the bus pulls into Elm Creek Ranch
in Hebron. Wilbert Opp and Stan Sayler will not only serve you a great lunch
but display some of their top Salers genetics to add to your good cattle memory.
Right when it's cat-nap time, your eyes will not want to close and miss out
on a visit to some prominent commercial breeders as the buses wind their way
through the Badlands of North Dakota towards RAO Ranch in Williston. There
you will find that Roger and Helen Olson's �girls� are ready for you to view.
Roger and Helen have been in the Salers business over 20 years and you will
see why when you get a look at some of his good quality cattle that are easy-fleshing
and thick-made with carcass traits bred through and through. The day will end
with dinner at the RAO Ranch followed by a short bus trip into Williston to
the International Inn where we will stay over Friday night.
Saturday, October 7, will begin with a commercial stop before you reach Effertz
Key Ranch in Velva for lunch. If you are lucky, you will get to see the whole
Effertz family - Pat and Loretta, his wife, and their 13 children with their
spouses and children. I am sure you will learn a lot from them and see some �High
Impact� red and black purebred Salers and Optimizers since they have been in
the business 47 years and are a third generation family. Your next stop is
on to see The Bodine Brothers � Tom Henry and Rob Bodine, also in Velva. Don't
miss seeing some of their great performance bulls, KEYS Top Dog 66K, Feists
Mr Markus 05M, Bodine's Get-Er-Done 737P, MJB Powder Horn 212P, GGT P Jalopeno
126R, and HA Rembrandt R552.
You will be sure to have a grand time at the Feist Salers Ranch also in Velva,
the closing tour stop. Dave and Michelle will show their great hospitality
by serving you great food and showing you some of their high quality cattle
you will not forget. You will not want to miss the heifer auction either! The
North Dakota Tour Group purchased a heifer at the 2006 Midland Bull Test from
the Montana/Wyoming Salers Association that Skinner Ranch, Hall, Mont., donated
to the Montana/Wyoming Salers Association. This heifer, SRS Ricochet 0562R,
is a 2005 January SRS Network 0014N, daughter. She is A.I.'d to the 2nd highest
%IMF bull that MacDonald's have ever sold in their sale, MAC F1 Rain Dancer
4R. This bull sold for $9,500 in the MacDonald's Performance Power 2006 Sale.
All the proceeds of this heifer go to the American Salers Junior Association.
Don't miss adding this great heifer in your herd and supporting the Salers
breeders of the future!
The tour buses will arrive back in Bismarck at the host hotels between 9:00 and
9:30 PM central time on Saturday night, completing the tour loop. If you're
flying in for the tour, the Bismarck airport is located within five minutes
of the host hotels and is served by Northwest and United airlines.
North Dakota is a beautiful, historic and scenic state. You may want to come
early (or stay a little longer) and explore historic sites like Fort Mandan,
a re-creation of the fort where the Lewis and Clark expedition spent the bitter
winter of 1804-05 on their epic journey. Or visit Fort Abraham Lincoln and
see the restored Custer house and fort that was home to General George Armstrong
Custer and the 7th Cavalry before they left on their fatal march into Montana
to the Battle of the Little Bighorn. There are lots of scenic and historic
sites to visit. Come to North Dakota and stay awhile�.after all, Custer was
healthy when he left!