Bismarck

Mandan home reconstructed in 1930s by Corp of Engineers under instruction of Mandan woman in her 90s who had build several in her lifetime. The Mandan are since a presence in the area and hold rituals in these structures at Fort Abraham Lincoln reconstruction also redone by the CCC in the 30s. 

       Still in North Dakota, blame it on the water pump! We left Glen Ullin City Park this morning just before the city crew trenched across the little gravel exit road. The camp hostess knocked on the door and let us know we needed to get while the gettin was good. There were only about 15 sites at Glen Ullin and we had a little visit with the camp host and hostess that were babysitting their grandson. There were several very large RV that seem to be stored there waiting for their families to visit. The host was proud to tell us that they had recently installed new electrical and sewer outlets. The crews this morning were working on electrical and, it appeared DSL wiring. Having working wireless has been our biggest challenge as many parks have very weak connections and we quickly use data up on our Verison hotspot. We noticed in our drive to Elgin, that many small communities had invested in RV parks in the community areas since during the fracking boom many workers dealt with housing by buying RVs and then paying to park. Now the boom has crashed and it seems the parks were added but are mostly empty. Must add that some appear empty as the works don't return till sunset which now is 9:30 in these northern regions.

Reconstruction of a Mandan home, an entrance with building in back ground. 

      Back to our adventure, we drove to Mandan and turned off to see Abraham Lincoln Fort and the reconstruction of the Mandan Native American Village off Highway 94. This is the fort which was home to the 7th Calvary which rode out under General George Custer never to return. The Fort sits on the banks of the Missouri River which for centuries was home to the Mandan Indians but was abandoned before the arrival of Lewis and Clark. The Mandan, who were fisherman and farmers had often fought off the Lakota (Sioux) had been decimated by small pox brought to them by European traders. We had a good tour and the lunch. We had been called back by Reese, owner of Esacpe Trailers, about the unworking water pump. He had more trouble shooting ideas. We decided to divert to Bismark, a big 14 miles away, and stay at the KOA. This is the only KOA in North Dakota and it is decidedly fancy as RV parks go. Plus, it has great wifi! We justified by saying the this short day was needed if we could do a final trouble shooting and maybe get the pump to work. Please note, dear reader, we only need the pump when boon docking i.e. roughing it with no hookups. So lovely afternoon but no luck with pump so we will have to carry water on dry camps till new pump reaches us. Gosh this is just like real tent camping! Yikes.  So tomorrow it will be hook up early and cover 300 miles to Minnesota. We have reservations at a Corps of Engineers site at the Headwaters of the Mississippi. Be well all.

Compare this historical description with the Montana explanations of Native  American clashes with the US Calvary.  This sign was in the city park of Glen Ullin, North Dakota about 35 miles from Elgin, ND.