Tuesday, September 19, 2017

This is our last day in our campground, 17 miles south of Mandan, ND, so we made the most of it.  Ken and Arlene wanted to have us join them for breakfast in Mandan this morning, so we met them at their favorite 'down home cooking restaurant' and had a great breakfast and good conversation, before departing the area.  It was a strange day for the weather, and we had intended to ride the bike trail in Mandan, but it was windy, drizzly and just unpredictable, so we did a quick grocery stop to tide us over on our next jaunt and headed for home.  By 2:00 in the afternoon, it seemed to dry up, and get mild, so we went to the Abraham Lincoln State Park about 10 miles north of us.  Okay, now you are going to get a history lesson.  I had to decipher some of this myself, as I had the wrong impression, for the use of the park.  I thought Lewis and Clark spent some time here with the Mandan Indians, but when they reached this area, the Mandan's had left by 1781.  Lewis and Clark's "Voyage of Discovery" didn't appear here until October 20, 1804.  The Mandan's lived in this area from 1575 to 1781, and smallpox epidemics and attacks by other Indian tribes, forced them to move farther north.  Their living structures were earthen homes, with large logs for support inside, and were called On-A-Slant Village, because they sloped toward the river. Lewis and Clark moved northward to Fort Mandan, which is near Washburn, ND, and the place we visited a few days ago. Here they discovered the Mandan Indians and shared their living experiences with them.  The Corps of Discovery began construction of Fort Mandan on November 2, 1804 and wintered there until resuming their travels on April 7, 1805 toward their discovery of the Pacific Ocean.  This is also, where they met Sakagawea, who served as a guide for them and her husband was an interpreter for the expedition.  Abraham Lincoln State Park was a U.S. military post established June, 14, 1872.  Its sole purpose was to protect the surveyors and construction workers for the Northern Pacific Railroad that was being built in this area. The fort's most notable resident and first commander, was Lieutenant Colonel George Custer.  He and the 7th Cavalry arrived in the fall of 1873 and spent two and a half years here.  On May 17, 1876, Custer and the 7th Cavalry rode out on their ill-fated campaign against the Plains Indians.  By 1880 the fort declined in importance and was ordered abandoned on May 28, 1891.  The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was enlisted to rebuild the fort as it was.  If you cared to read all of this, I hope I condensed it enough to keep your interest!   

This is the home that Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer, and his wife, Libbie occupied.

The park closed on Sunday, so we didn't get a chance to see the inside, but it is quite stately looking.

This structure is called a blockhouse, and there were many of them atop this hill that overlooks the Missouri River and Bismarck.  They were built to protect the infantry post. 

This is a view of the On-A-Slant Village of the Mandan Indians.  They had a great view of the Missouri River. 

This is the best sunset shot that I could get, while we stayed here.  When we first got in, there was so much smoke in the skies, that it made the sunsets red, but we always had a lot of cloud cover.  Our campsite was right on the river.  We will be leaving tomorrow, but we've had a wonderful time with Glenn and Glo, and a fishing experience of a lifetime!  We will see them in Arizona this winter and will hike with Glenn.  

How sweet is this?  I do know several people thought we were crazy to order a little freezer, before we had any fish!  I guess we found out that there are Walleye in North Dakota!  The bottom portion is Northern.  Thanks to Glenn, our terrific fishing guide!