Exploring Fort Abraham Lincoln: Part 3

Well, I didn't expect to finish all three parts before leaving here, but there's still time, and so I'll keep going. This is Part 3 of our visit to Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park. You can find Part 1 right here. Part 2 is right here. We drove to another section of the park to see this blockhouse section. This is the part I'd seen in books and other sites about the state park. Below, you can see an image of what the fort looked like when it was in use.

Here was the information greeting sign on the way to the blockhouses. This was an "infantry" post as opposed to what I showed in Part 2. That portion of the fort was a "cavalry" post. The Google told me that soldiers on horseback belong to the Cavalry, and those who work in communications and soldiers specially trained to fight on foot are members of the Infantry.

Moving on, this is what we were just about to see.

Walking on, these buildings are also authentically reconstructed. The two in the image below were open.

Along the way, I caught this image of a grasshopper. We've been seeing these all over. They are absolutely thick here in North Dakota. I wish I could capture them in flight because their wings are beautiful. They are black and tipped with yellow. In flight, they look like butterflies. Sadly, they only open their wings in flight, and so they are impossible to photograph until they've landed and folded their wings again.

Walking inside the blockhouse, one was first confronted by a single flight of stairs. You can also see the gun ports on the far side of the image below.

Looking through the gun port, we could see our truck in the parking lot. We come in peace...no shooting, please. You can see Mike standing toward the rear of the truck. He was flying his drone. I'll share his footage after he uploads it, but that will have to be a separate post.

Climbing the stairs to the second level, there was a ladder to get all the way to the top.

From above...oh my...what an incredible view. Nobody was going to sneak up on them with a view like this.

Looking off in the other direction, we could see a third blockhouse.

Looking north, we could see the State Capitol building. Also, note the sign to the right of the blockhouse. I'll show you the sign about the hospital in just a few more images. Here, you can see one of the cornerstones on which it was built.

Taking a pano from the second block house, this is what we saw:

There were other structures here in its day, but none left standing now. Still, the information about the places was interesting. All that remains are the cornerstones on which they were built.

On the far side of the parking lot, one could walk to the Post Cemetery.

And what a lovely location to have as one's final resting place.

Walking out to it, I passed this lone sunflower growing among the native grass.

I took a lot of pictures of the headstones here. It was interesting to see the many ways they met their demise. 

Some of them died from diseases that no longer exist in vaccinated people. This one was just a child. 

"Consumption" was the word used to describe tuberculosis.

Our exploration of the park was coming to an end here, and we made our way back to the campground. Along the way, we visited the stables where the cavalry horses were housed and cared for. It was a very long building.

On the right side, you can see a chimney. Horses had to stay warm too.

Here's how it looks inside.

And here's a little information about the horses and their care.

Outside were these two wagons.

The first one had this label.

Lifting up the lid there was a place to store some hay.

The second wagon had this label. I can recall my dad having a Studebaker when he drove me to kindergarten in 1959.

Okay...well, we made it! I'm happy to have been able to finish all three posts since internet access is in no way guaranteed at our next stop. Before I go, a little update on Smitty. He's doing much better, although not at all happy about being dosed with an antibiotic twice each day. (I believe Mike and I are at least as unhappy as he is.) He's still sleeping a lot, but purring more and sneezing less, and generally seems to be on the mend.

Sadie is doing just fine. She's also doing really well this trip. For all the anxiety she experiences as we're getting ready to leave, she's a pretty cool customer on the road. She can be seen lounging on the back of the couch much of the time.

After so much walking yesterday, it seemed like a good day for a Dutch Apple Pie for Two. I brought along a can of apple pie filling that's been sitting in my pantry at home for quite some time. I bought it to do something else, and then never did it. The topping was in my freezer from yet a different apple pie bake sometime in the past.

We'll be moving along from here after we've finished our final preparations. We have three nights at Fort Ransom State Park, and then we'll be on our way to Minnesota. I'm hoping we'll talk again before Minnesota, but just in case...take good care, my friends. I'll see you on the other side.