PART 3: Lewis & Clark RV Caravan - Bismarck, South Dakota, through Great Falls, Montana

PART 2: Lewis & Clark RV Caravan - Saint Charles, MO to Pierre, SD  -- preceded this post if you are interested in hearing about the first 12 days of the Lewis & Clark RV caravan. 

6/12 - 6/16/21: Bismarck, ND

We arrived in Bismarck after a 200+ mile drive through endless rolling grasslands. This is our first time in North Dakota, so one more state to check off!

After the requisite bug cleanup on the front of Max, we started some laundry and put our feet up until dinner. Our Wagonmasters and TailGunners provided a nice homecooked meal at the campground and reviewed the plan for seeing sights in the area tomorrow. 

Up and on a bus at 9am for the trip to North Dakota Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center. There was an impressive metal sculpture of the explorers with one of the local indians in front. Inside were engaging exhibits, hundreds of period artifacts, and cool art collections. Many of our fellow RVers purchased items at the nice gift shop while Mr-eat-dessert-first Jeffrey convinced me that we should eat ice cream cones instead 🙄

    Ice cream hidden out of picture frame

Our next stop was the Mandan Fort Visitor's Center and a full-sized replica of the fort built by the Corps of Discovery to house the 50(ish) men for the winter. The original fort was actually  constructed 10 miles west but that site is now in the middle of the Missouri river. Lewis & Clark located it nearby the friendly Mandan and Hidatsa Indian village and they helped Lewis & Clark survive the winter months and prepare for the next segment of the trip west in the spring. Some of the explorers turned around and took specimens and notes back to St. Louis to be sent to President Jefferson so he would know the progress so far. 

Fort Mandan replica

Of special note is that 17-year old pregnant Sacagawea was part of the Mandan village. She was married to Toussaint Charbonneau and joined the Corp of Discovery with him to help be translators for the indian tribes further west. Toting a baby the entire way, she ended up being very important and big reason why the expidition was ultimately successful.

A nice catered lunch was provided and we enjoyed sandwiches and soup in a shaded pavilion in lovely weather. Our touring day ended early in the afternoon and we dispersed back to our RVs to enjoy the rest of the day on our own -- likely most of us catching up on laundry and other chores since the last week has been pretty busy. 

With a full day of touring ahead of us, we set off on a bus to Fort Abraham Lincoln. One of the barracks and General Custer's house have been reconstructed and held a nice collection of period pieces of furnishings as well as signs with life stories about some of the soldiers. As we arrived they were raising the American flag (on Flag Day), but it is the version that flew at the Fort in 1876 when Lt.Col. George Custer was in charge and had only 37 stars. This fort was after Lewis & Clark's time, but was still a local historic site along the Missouri river.

The 37-starred flag (excellent picture taken by fellow RVer Jerry Kosel)

Fort Abraham Lincoln barracks

Custer's house

Well appointed house interior

The Mandan indian village looks like round clay  earth mounds. They were amazingly cool in the summer and warm in the winter. The Mandan were very peaceful and great farmers, so they traded the food they grew with other tribes and others passing through. Sadly this tribe was decimated by smallpox in the late 1700s, but 20% of them survived and some of their descendents are still alive today.

Outside of the Mandan village lodges

Interior of the large council lodge

Interior of a family lodge

We had a lovely catered lunch of pulled pork sandwiches and then proceeded to the North Dakota Capitol and nearby Heritage Center & State Museum. The Capitol was a tower architecture (18 floors) as opposed to the dome styles we normally see, but it was still interesting and we were treated to a personal tour. The Heritage Center was a fun mix of North Dakota history from 600 million years ago up to the present, with a dedicated gallery to the state's early peoples from the pre-historic age to the 1860s.

Sculpture of Sacagawea and her baby at the Heritage Center

Upon return to the campground, the two of us went to Red Lobster to celebrate a belated 33rd anniversary alone ♥️ 

If you are not a fan of the Covid vaccine, you may want skip the rest of the paragraph. Going out to dinner is still novel to us and we entered wearing masks until we were seated. The only reason we feel safe doing this is because we are fully protected by a vaccine. No other customers were masked and only a portion of the servers were, including our own. When we ordered, I inquired to her about North Dakota's policy as each state is different. She said it is personal preference and that they are asked by the business to wear them if they are unvaccinated and because some customers feel better if their servers are masked. Our server also said she and her boyfriend were not vaccinated -- that she was too busy with her 8-month old baby to research it and she was worried about side effects, especially because she has asthma. Huh. Of course, Jeffrey and I are both thinking that she will be much more unhappy if she gets a Covid infection and her asthma puts her at a much greater risk for complications. We gently promoted getting vaccinated and left it at that, but we found it interesting to hear firsthand from one of the holdouts. 

Our final day in Bismarck is free of organized activities, so we decided to visit the Dakota Zoo with fellow animal lovers, Dee & Brendan. It had a number of species we don't see in other zoos very often.

Siamang family with a fairly new baby

Mongolian Przewalski's horse, once extinct in the wind, they are now being reintroduced

Curious Elk

Photogenic River Otter

Sleepy White Tiger

Snowy Owl

We finished our day with a few more loads of laundry and provisioning at Costco and a local grocery. Jeffrey is excited to see that the Costco sells diesel fuel for only $2.89, so we will bring Max by in the morning to fill up.

6/16 - 6/17/21: Medora, ND

We had two driving routes to choose from to get to Medora, ND -- 135 miles straight west on highway 94 or most of 94 with an additional 60 mile detour on the "Enchanted Highway", a path containing a collection of the world's largest scrap metal sculptures. Parking for big rigs was rumored to be very limited, so we took the shorter route fully prepared to be ribbed by our fellow RVers for skipping something fun. As it turned out, most were envious of our choice as there was major construction and the ride was uncomfortably bumpy. We did get a photo of the first sculpture which we could see as we drove by the detour exit.

Dinner was a group affair at the famous Pitchfork Fondue. Steaks are literally cooked on huge metal forks in giant pots of hot oil. After you choose your steak, you add any sides you want. It was quite unique and we were all stuffed. They move 450 diners through this venue every evening in a matter of 1.5 hours, if not more on the weekends.

Streaks queued up to be fondued

The post meal entertainment was the Medora Musical. It was a variety show of singing, dancing, and magic, but it's goal is to tell the story of the town and Theodore Roosevelt's time in the area when he visited North Dakota as a recently widowed young man. Medora will be the home of his quite-delayed Presidential Library/Museum in a few years. This area of North Dakota is also home to the Theodore Roosevelt National Parks and he was instrumental in preserving important lands in our vast country.

The Medora Musical in action

The hillside over the stage, complete with a rider herding an elk away from the action

Our final day in Medora was a "day of exploration" on our own so, after a hardy breakfast in town, we used it to investigate the south unit of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. We started with a 3-mile round trip hike to see one of the petrified forest. It was moderately challenging until we scaled the ridge and got up on the grassy plateau. I'm glad to have my new hiking boots and poles! The forest was more stumps than full trees, but it was pretty interesting.

Lovely blooming cactus on the grassy plateau

Jeffrey next to one of the larger petrified tree stumps

Me with my new hiking equipment

Our next step was to go to another park entrance and drive the scenic loop after checking out the visitor's center. We choose a parking area next to a prairie dog "town" to enjoy our picnic lunch. We ate in the car and watched the dogs skitter around and chirp-bark at each other. They are pretty darn cute! We also saw a bachelor bison munching on the green grass beside the road. These bachelors are temporarily exiled from the herd until the breeding season is over so the dominant bull has all the ladies to himself.

A lone bison 

One of a gazillion prairie dogs we saw

After a mid-day snack of ice cream cones in town, we rinsed off the North Dakota dust and joined friends at the Theodore Roosevelt show where an impersonator does a wonderful job telling us about his life. 

Theodore himself!

We're closed the day with a group meeting about the drive to the next campground and what awaits us there. Then 6 of us went the short distance back into town for a dinner of pizza. I think we undid the benefits of the exercise we got earlier!

6/18/21: Fort Peck Dam, MT

After an uneventful 4-hour drive to Fort Peck, we have the experience of "boondocking" at one of the group recreation areas as there was a mixup with the campground. Boondocking is camping with no services -- electric, water, or sewer. We all have tanks and most of us have generators, so this isn't too much of a hardship, especially with nice moderate temperatures. We are up on a ridge overlooking a lovely dam-made lake and there is a steady breeze to keep us comfortable. Overnight temps will be in the mid 50s so it will be pleasant sleeping.

The first line of us nose-to-tail in our boondocking area

After arriving, we grabbed some RV friends and drove in our car a few miles to the Fort Peck Dam, the highest of 6 major dams along the Missouri river. It creates the 5th largest artificial lake in the U.S. and is over 130 miles long. It was completed in 1940 and there is a nice interpretive center about the construction of the dam and Lewis & Clark's trek through this area of Montana. 

The overlook of the main lake area

We returned to our camping area for the meeting about tomorrow's drive, followed by a bring-your-own-meat + potluck dinner. Our caravan leaders supplied margaritas as compensation for the lack of formal campground facilities and that definitely helped smooth over any grumbling! 

6/19/21: Havre, MT

After driving to Havre, most of our group opted to tour the Havre "underground" area of the where the residents lived and conducted business for awhile after a big fire burned down almost everything above ground. They had everything from a Barber Shop to a Butcher to a  Bakery to a Bar to a Brothel!

Barber Shop

Dentist/Doctor office

Pharmacy

Brothel! (Next to the bar of course)

We then proceeded to the Wahkpa Chu'gn Buffalo Jump. For centuries the local Indians would run a group of buffalo off a hill and collect their bodies at the bottom to be processed for meat, tools, hides, etc. Nothing is wasted. Like any architectural dig, the deeper you go, the older the bones are so they had been doing this for a long time -- at least 2000 years. Apparently over 280 buffalo jumps have been found across the country. 

The excavated pit showing the layers of buffalo remains

Experiencing the way the Indians cooked buffalo in hot rock boiling water

6/20 - 6/22/21: St Mary (East Glacier), MT

Today we all drove to St. Mary on the east side of Glacier National Park. The countryside we passed through had some cool surprises. We saw wild  Pronghorn sheep in fields along the road and googled to find out more about them. To my surprise, their closest living relative is the GIRAFFE! Who knew?

We also passed beautiful yellow fields planted with Canola. They were so bright they almost glowed! In addition to being profitable, canola helps interrupt the pest and disease cycle, this helps the crops that follow. Lastly, we finally saw the snow-spotted Rocky Mountains and our campground has lovely views of them.

Jeffrey driving past canola field

Driving towards the lovely mountains

Max with a view of the Rockies

We closed the day with a group pizza party at the campground pavilion and discussed the plan for the next few days. We are all clearly getting more comfortable with each other as there is lots of ribbing & jokes shared, thinking maybe we should start throwing popcorn at each other like we learned at the Melodrama show! 🤣

The next morning we boarded our unique red  buses for a full day of touring Glacier National Park. We started by seeing Running Eagle Falls and the Two Medicine area, including the general store. We then had a great group lunch at the Glacier Park Lodge. 

One of our buses

Running Eagle Falls

Official flower of the park

The icing on the "beautiful views of the day" cake were during our drive on the east end of Going-to-the-Sun road. The full road across the park is not yet open, but we can at least see the first 13 miles. I think Jeffrey and I are the only members of the group without a senior National Park card. We'll be eligible in 5 years 🙄

Wild Goose Island In St. Mary lake

Jackson Glacier

Mt. Jackson

The roof was pulled back, so we could take photos just by standing up (if we weren't moving!)

We spent our final day in the East Glacier area facing reality -- exercise, grocery shopping, laundry, haircuts, and various household chores. The haircut part is much easier (and cheaper) now that I've acquired the tools and learned how to cut my own hair (with Jeffrey's help in the back), a skill I picked up during Covid last year. The groceries turned out to be the real challenge as there is not a robust supply here. It took us 3 stores to find a loaf of wheat bread and 1 avocado (which we paid $3 for). No bananas for Jeffrey though. Thankfully nothing else was urgent. The weather has been outstanding and we will miss it as we move into hotter climates next week. 

6/23 - 6/25/21: Great Falla, MT

We had an easy drive somewhat SE to Great Falls, Montana. There was a group dinner at the Black Bear restaurant where we also got a wonderful presentation by the Lewis & Clark Honor Guard, a volunteer organization that strives to keep the expedition and it's technologies (our lack thereof) alive. 

One of the presenters was part Blackfoot indian and talked about the contributions of several of the expedition members plus how the group likely accomplished some of the tasks they faced such as carving canoes from cottonwood trees after trying unsuccessfully to make their iron framed boat waterproof. The other presenter showed us the various rifles, knives, and other tools that were carried by the members of the expedition. Even on full tummies we were captivated by their stories and would have been happy to hear more.

We were up early and on a bus by 8am, starting our tour with a visit to Decision Point where the expedition stopped at the confluence of the Marias and Missouri rivers in June 1805 to contemplate which one to follow. Luckily they chose wisely and reached the landmark Great Falls as described by the Mandan indians. In present day, the Missouri is the larger of the two and an obvious better choice but 200 years has changed these waterways quite a bit.

Sign pointing us to the overlook

Missouri going off to the right and around an island. The Marias river is almost not visible as it goes left beyond the farthest tip of the island.

Marker at the location of the expedition campsite

The next stop was Fort Benton, a small town along the Missouri river. Lewis & Clark went past this area in 1805, over 40 years before Fort Benton was established as a fur trading post. Almost 15 years later the first steamboat makes it the innermost port on the Missouri. Today it is known as having the first bridge to span the Missouri, built in 1888. The bridge still stands today and is for foot/pedal traffic only.

Fort Benton bridge

Gators over the Missouri

Fort Benton is also the home of "Shep", the dog that was forever faithful. Go here to read his story: http://www.fortbenton.com/shep.html

Shep as memorialized by the town of Fort Benton

We enjoyed box lunches at the famous Great Falls (the actual waterfall, not the city name). It was a great effort for the Corps of Discovery to portage their boats and belongings around these falls, plus the 4 additional falls upstream. Of course in present day, dams control the water and provide electric power to the city, so they looked very different to the explorers.

Great Falls present day

Great Falls before the dam was built

Black Eagle Falls

Rainbow Falls

Crooked Falls

Bus trip done, a bunch of us went to one of my favorite places for dinner, MOD Pizza. I love being able to customize it with any number of toppings for one reasonable price. Kind of spoils most other pizza joints for me! 

Our final morning in Great Falls diverted from the Lewis & Clark theme as we all got a personal tour of the Charles M. Russell museum. Charles was a renowned western artist and, in addition to a great collection of his work, the museum has moved his art studio and home onsite from the East Glacier area. 

Sculpture of C.M. Russell

Russell home

Russell art studio

One of the Russell paintings acquired by the museum

After lunch we had the option of visiting the Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center. In addition to the overall story of the expedition, it also highlighted the life of the native indians they encountered and the challenging portage over the falls in the area. We were also able to walk the half mile to a natural springs that Lewis & Clark discovered next to the river.

Life sized model of how the expedition portaged the canoes and belongings

The Giant Springs

Our day closed with grilled hot dogs and a group meeting to prepare us for tomorrow's drive to Helena and the activities planned there. 

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This concludes Part 3 of our Lewis & Clark caravan, June 12 through June 25, 2021. I will continue the story in Part 4!

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