Following Lewis and Clark

Not exactly in their footsteps or in their mode of travel (thank goodness!), but we have stopped at several places where they also traveled.  From Jamestown, ND we went to Ft. Abraham Lincoln State Park in Mandan, ND.  This is the place where Gen. Custer was stationed with the 7th Cavalry before departing for the Little Big Horn in 1876.  They built a replica of his and Libby's home 25 years ago and this weekend was the celebration of that event.  There were demonstrations of the 10 barrel Gatlin gun and cannon, tour of the Custer House with period interpreters,  and an army camp illustrating life during that time.  Gene enjoyed all of this while I stayed at the RV with a headache.  This is the first time I've been not well since we left June 3rd.  The day before we had walked up to the Visitor Center, looked at the exhibits and then walked out to the On-A-Slant Mandan Village.  The name came from the fact that it was built on the hill overlooking the Missouri River.  When Lewis and Clark arrived at this place in October 1804, the smallpox had already wiped out most of the people and those remaining moved north to live with the Hidatsas.  A few earthlodges have been reconstructed  so we can see how they lived.  The women were responsible for building and maintaining the lodges, growing corn, squash and beans and the men hunted elk, deer, etc. 

 From there we traveled to Cross Ranch State Park near Washburn and visited the ND Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center.  They had exhibits depicting the journey from the beginning May 14, 1804 from Camp Dubois to the end September 23, 1806 back in St Louis.  The hardships they endured can hardly be imagined, but a route to the Pacific Ocean was found.  We also toured a replica of Fort Mandan, just two miles down the road.  This fort was built to shelter them during the winter of 1804 to 1805.

Our guide for the fort tour was extremely informative and we enjoyed the time spent there learning more about these brave men.

Next day we were off again to the Knife River Indian Village in Stanton where again we enjoyed learning more about the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Tribes - later known as the Affiliated Tribes. This is where Sakakawea, a Shoshone girl, lived after she was taken from her tribe near the Bitterroot Mountains.   We ate at a local cafe - Cafe du Mond - recommended by a volunteer at the Gift Shop.  He suggested ordering fleischkuechle - seasoned ground beef wrapped in a pastry/dough and fried.  It was delicious. 
We spent the next three days at Lake Sakakawea State Park.  Yes, there are about 20 ways to spell her name, all because Lewis and Clark would write it phonetically in their journals.  We had not made a reservation and found a beautiful "first come first served" spot overlooking the Lake.  Gene set up my screen room and I enjoyed the time to rest and relax. 

We then spent time at Lake Sakakawea
COE on the Missouri River, visited the Audubon Refuge Center in Coleharbor & spent last night at Fort Stevenson State Park on Lake Sakakawea.  Today we drove north to Lewis and Clark State Park on Lake Sakakawea near Epping, ND. It's a big lake!  We are now in oil country - seeing the oil rigs and what we call "praying mantis" drills.

 We have seen beautiful country on our trip - grasslands, wheat fields, corn in all stages of growth and have now learned what the brilliant yellow fields are - canola, and purple/blue fields are flax.

So we shall rest up for another day or so and turn south towards Theodore Roosevelt National Park and then into South Dakota.  I am so thankful we have this chance to see this glorious country of ours.
It is truly a blessing!

So until I have wifi again, blessings to all our family and friends.