On to North Dakota

July 6 - July 10







We parked overnight at a farm near Grand Forks, ND. We are able to arrange overnight parking at farms, wineries, and other businesses through an organization called Harvest Hosts. This farm was a large operation -  about 6000 acres.The owner said that he accepts overnght guests as his contribution  to educating the public about farming and agriculture.









Our next stop was the Prairie Village Museum in Rugby, ND. For the price an admission to the museum we were able to park here overnight. The museum tells the story of Germans in Russia who immigrated to North Dakota. It also tells the story of an interesting, but little known connection between North Dakota and Queen Victoria in England.










Behind the facade seen above is an 1880s railroad town. All aboard for 1880 in North Dakota!










The 1880s street scene.










The contents of the buildings depict small town life in the 1880s, especially for Germans who immigrated to North Dakota from Russia.













This one-room school reminded me of the two-room school I attended when I was in the first grade.










Rugby claims to be at the geographic center of the North American continent. It seems they will say anything that might attact visitors.











Our next stop was Washburn, which is on the Missouri river and an important location on the Lewis and Clark Trail.  This is where Lewis and Clark built Fort Mandan and where the Corps of Discovery spent their first winter on their expedition to the Pacific Ocean.  The sculpture shows Lewis and Clark meeting with Mandan chief Sheheke-shote at the start of their stay there.  The chief is quoted as saying, "If we eat, you shall eat, if we starve, you must starve also."










A reconstruction of Fort Mandan, where the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery spent the winter.












The interior of the fort. Considering how cold it gets in North Dakota, this must have been a miserable stay.










A reconstructed Mandan eath lodge at the nearby Knife River Indian Villages historical site. The lodges were typically 30 to 60 feet in diameter, large enough to house an extended familty (about 5-15 persons).












The interior of the lodge.









Another view of the interior.










The actual location of an Indian village. All that remains of the lodges are these depressions in the ground.