Mandan, North Dakota, United States| North Country Inn and Suites, Mandan ND |
Oh, let's see, what happened this am to derail my plans.
I asked last night if I could leave the gardens campground early in the morning and was told the border was open 24/7 and I could leave the gardens/campground at any time. The woman at the gate who registered my campsite had asked if I liked being around others or at a distance. This campground was really special in that the spaces were luxuriously large and, with so few people there, all that I saw were in their campers, I did get spooked out at night because I was so totally isolated in my area. I had the whole bathroom with 3 sinks, 3 toilets & 3 showers all to myslef. I went to sleep before it was even dark and woke up during he night. I saw lights flashing from the further side of the trees - it was spooky, but finally I got out and went to the bathrooms. Nothing got me. I couldn't see the stars that well because the moon was quite bright. I woke up around 3:30 am and finally got back to sleep. When it started getting light, I tried to sleep longer and managed to sleep until 7:15 am.
So much for an early start. I had a gloriously hot shower, washed some laundry, had my muesli and broke camp leaving the campground by 9:10 am. Hardly early - I was worried that I would not keep up with my intended schedule. I stopped in Dunseith for gas and an OK coffee. I saw a huge turtle - the town's totem I think - so I took photos for John. It wasn't a real turtle but a sculpture of sorts made from tire rims.
The drive to Knife River Indian Villages NHS was pretty directly south for most of the way. Then for some reason when I thought I was OK and on track - the GPS told me I was at my destination and I clearly was not. I ran it again and it was now still 45 minutes away - I wondered how much backtracking that would be. I may have had to do a second reset and I seemed to be making all kinds of turns, but finally I got there. The landscape today was the same kind of ranches with grain silos and hay bales, corn & a few sunflower fields. There aren't that many quaint old rundown barns, but mostly new pre-fab types.
There were a few horses to be seen and a few more herds of grazing cattle. I started to draw a conclusion about those roadside round bales of hay. I think the area between tarmac and field is seeded for hay and then mowed down and baled into the large bales. I am not sure who takes possession of them since there are tons out there, but I did see a long-bedded truck with quite a few piles on - two on the bottom and one on top stacked front to back. I should draw a picture. I couldn't take a photo. There wee again lots of photos I missed today because there are no shoulders to speak of and no good places to turn off and occasional cars or trucks that make it inadvisable to be taking photos while driving.
When I first saw the Knife River site, I wasn't sure it was worth all the trouble, but the ranger was really nice and helpful. The short film on the local tribe's old way of living narrated by an old Hidatsa woman was very good and the artifacts and photos in the museum with nicely presented.
A replica of the traditional earthen home built by the women was pretty amazing. It was so big and roomy! I don't know how those women managed to cut and shape all those big logs. I tried a few of the trails but I was hot in my jeans and my sandals weren't the best footwear so I gave up. The actual village sites were described to me by the ranger as depressions and bumps in the ground. That part was disappointing because I never managed to see them. I did see a midden site but it really didn't look like anything to me.
The young ranger said she had to sit down and rest while she spoke with me. Later I asked about whatever ailed her and she said she had side effects from a medication that made her very weak, feverish, chilled, with stomach pains and a host of other things. The doctors even were going to remove her gall bladder. Finally the surgeon said she didn't need gall bladder surgery, since her gall bladder was fine, but something else was wrong. She has since changed doctors but still has lingering symptoms and is not fully recovered.
She has used up all her sick and vacation time too. I felt bad for her. It really shows that you cannot really trust the medical profession completely - at least not all of them. You need to be alert and not be a passive recipient, but question things when they don't seem right.
As I was leaving Knife River, I searched hotels in Mandan and ones from Bismarck kept coming up. I decided to try to find something close to a Tribal Arts Center - now I don't even know if there is one - but when I drove to one, it didn't seem to pan out. I saw some hotels near the exit of the interstate but passed those by looking for something that doesn't exist. Then I went back to the Hopper app, limited the choice to Mandan and only got 2. I picked the cheaper one (North Country Inn and Suites) and it is a seedier kind - the old style where you park next to your door. This is actually more convenient for me with all my bits and pieces. The street - a numbered highway - reminds me of Broadway in Albany, but it even has trains running next to the street. So I have my seedy hotel room and my managers special 8-cut pizza with 3 toppings from Domino's for $7.99. Quite the party here. The hotel manager told me about it when I checked in and asked about food options within walking distance. It was only a block away.
I still have to upload 2 days worth of photos from the Lumix and copy yesterday's blog to TravelArk. Then I can try to plan tomorrow - my drive to Theodore Roosevelt NP.
2025-05-22