Exploring Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park: Part 1

Good morning, my friends. We had quite a rain storm blow through last night. I awakened to some rumbling thunder, and then some flashes of lightening, and then some hard rain. It happened while we were in Montana too. This morning, it looks as if we'll be facing blue skies for our drive to Fort Ransom State Park, also in North Dakota.

We got out and explored the park here yesterday. Oh my...what a lot there was to see in one small area! I took nearly 200 pictures, which I've winnowed down to about 50. With so much to tell you, I've decided to split it into three posts. So we'll start here today with a stop at the park visitor center. As I've mentioned many times before in our travels, I'll be forever grateful to the CCC for the many structures, trails, and other special projects brought to fruition through their hard work. I would need a lot more hands to count the number of times we've come upon their public works projects.

They built the park's visitor center here, and there was a statue outside to honor them.

There were a few other items of interest to his right.

This was new to me.

I left my foot in the image for scale.

This plaque was at the entrance to the visitor center.

And here is the visitor center itself. It was really more of a museum than an information center, but there was a docent there to answer questions as well.

The building was situated beside the Slope Indian Village that was once occupied by the Mandan tribe prior to the arrival of the settlers.

There was a lot to see inside, and I've selected only a few items. If you're ever able to visit this park, I can highly recommend wandering around here for a while. There was so much more to see. Here is an example of the garb the Mandan might have worn.

Here is a decorated buffalo hide.

This was an interesting map showing just some of the tributaries along the Missouri River. Recall we saw the headwaters of the Missouri River when we visited Missouri Headwaters State Park just a few days ago. The park is situated at the confluence of the Heart River and the Missouri River.

In a separate room there were exhibits related to the cavalry that once occupied this post. Here are a couple of uniforms and weapons.

This park seems to be notable mostly because it was where General George Custer rode out from when he made his last stand at the Little Big Horn. Here is a picture of the good general.

This is his wife, Elizabeth.

And here's a little information about how an officer might have spent his time.

Finally, this exhibit showing a bonnet a woman might have worn and a washboard. I shall be eternally grateful I never had to do my laundry this way.

Okay, so let's just take a stroll over to the Slant Indian Village, once occupied by the Mandan tribe. 

We walked across a wooden bridge to reach it. This bridge was deceptively long since it made three turns as we crossed over.

Mind your manners, please.

We passed by a tree where these berries were growing. Does anyone know what this is? I asked my friend Google, but came up empty. They were about the size of peas.

To our left, we noticed the garden. There was an event held here during our visit when the rangers explained farming practices and harvested some of the vegetables. 

I was happy to see the sunflowers. The squirrels ate every single one of mine this year, and so I've had to enjoy the ones grown by others.

They used the Three Sisters system of planting with beans using the corn stalks for their trellis, and squash planted at the bottom to help control weeds. I'm showing this picture because the dark corn was interesting. I'm wondering if this is what maize looks like before harvest.

Inside one of the lodges, there was a display showing the Three Sisters method of planting.

Facing the other direction from the vegetables were some of the lodges.

Only a few were open. I went inside the larger one on the left of the image above.

This one appeared to be a ceremonial lodge. 

Looking to my left, it looked like this:

Looking to my right, it looked like this.

In the center of all the lodges was a fireplace. These would have been used for cooking and warmth. It gets cold in this part of the country during winter.

Looking straight up, it looked like this:

We could hear crickets chirping inside the lodges. In this one, there was a bird. It's hard to tell, but I think this is a kind of swallow.

While I was trying to get a good picture, this bird was joined by another. They probably have a nest inside.

Moving on, we visited one of the smaller lodges.

It's a little hard to see in this image, but you can see there is a barrier at the end of the entrance.

Here you can see it a little better.

This is what the sign says:

Inside it looked much like the lodge we'd already visited, but there were some displays inside.

So those are all the pictures I have to show from the Slope Village. I'll admit to feeling sad for the Native Americans who once inhabited these places. While I don't feel responsible for the actions of our predecessors, it gives me an appreciation for why it is important to learn about this period in our history. By understanding the consequences of their actions, we can, hopefully, develop the compassion and understanding that will prevent the wiping out of near whole civilizations in the future, be they human or animal.

Okay, so I have pictures loaded to two more posts about this state park, and I'll continue on as I'm able. I can probably finish part two this morning, and then finish part three down the road. Since I don't know whether I'll have internet access at our next destination, I'm letting you know once again that I could disappear for a few days. We'll be at a real live RV park on the other side of Fort Ransom, and so I'll be back around Wednesday at the latest. If we're lucky, we'll be able to get online at Fort Ransom.