Magnus Goes North With Summer, Day 10

Thursday June 5

Note from the time:

I am so sick of being cold! Inside and outside. It was 53 in the morning with a predicted high of 68. So yeah, a little coolish outside—but why does it have to be so cold inside the damn motorhome?

 Good-bye, Sheyenne River!

After our lovely two days at Fort Ransom, we were headed out. On the way west we kept crossing and re-crossing the Continental Divide. Or should I say, “a” Continental Divide. Apparently there are several—

 

Since our route took us on Interstate 64 west, I had a good chance to stare aimlessly out the window. And I hereby declare North Dakota to be the Big Billboard State.

(Later correction: South Dakota is the 45-mph road construction zone state and North Dakota is the Big Billboard gravel road state.)

 

The land was very open with huge, rolling hills. There were a few lone trees and a frequent grouping of trees in lowlands in the hollows.  Farmers appear to make rockpiles of the rocks that turn up in their field. (After all the topsoil blows away) Everywhere you look, off in the distance you see a pile of rocks, some overgrown with weeds and some not.

Eventually we arrived at Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park near Mandan, North Dakota.

Very nice park! Superbly clean and well-manicured, almost too much so.  Wide, easy to drive lanes. Pull-thru sites although I will note (a) a lot of them are “buddy” sites, where two RVs park in a row, and (b) the utilities in ours, site #1, were on the wrong side. We had 50-amp electric and water, which is weird because I’d written down 30-amp on the plan. All for the best, of course, but I don’t know whether I made the mistake or the park did an upgrade and didn’t fix the web page.

 The sites are down in a little bowl between the highly elevated train tracks—hidden by trees--and the Missouri river.  The area has lots of big trees, all containing yellow warblers, robins, Spotted Towhees, Chipping Sparrows and more.

The park has lots of trails.  Some are well mowed grass or hard surfaced bike trails, but there was one that included steep steps that ducked into the thick brush and went straight up the hill to the railroad track.  Then across the track and over to the Mandan Indian Village called On-A-Slant village. It consisted of large round earth lodges, reconstructed to represent about six of the many (50?) original ones.  The trail then goes to the ruins of the infantry encampment that was once there. All very interesting. 

 

There’s also a .6 mile trail along the Missouri riverfront, and a long bike trail that goes up the hill and off to parts unknown. (We didn’t take it)

On Thursday Ed and I took Molly for a little walk, but it was spitting rain and I didn’t think to bring the raincoat along. So we didn’t have much fun—we went along the river, up the stairs to the village,and then back the way we’d come.  After a short nap, I took Molly for another walk and we went down to the Cavalry Camp at the ruins of the fort and also beside General Custer’s house. I didn’t look to see if it was the original or a recreation, but it was awfully well preserved. I’d live there; it was gorgeous.

 We heard a pheasant by the river. Now that I know what one sounds like—a toy train’s whistle—I have started hearing them frequently.  

 

In the evening, after discovering that sunset wasn’t until 9:33 up here, I took Molly for a long walk again. We avoided a bunch of other campers with dogs by taking a very narrow and well-worn trail that ran between the tracks and the campground, but about ten feet away from each of them on the side of the hill and densely shaded with trees and undergrowth. We were almost invisible from the campsites up there, but we could hear the people. When the trail ended, we had the choice of going back through the earthen village or walking along the train tracks back to the Custer House and the place where the road into the campground crossed the tracks. Which to choose?  Obvious! I haven’t walked train tracks in years! 

 

There was a deer back there, but Molly didn’t see it. So my left arm is not yet broken.  The walk ended up taking a lot longer than I expected and we didn’t return until 8:30. But of course, it was still bright as day. 

I love this place!  I’d come back in a minute, even in winter. Uh…maybe. In a 4-wheel-drive car with snow tires.