Let's see how good my memory is--why don't I learn to label my photos at the time I upload them? This is Strasburg, home of Lawrence Welk. We just drove by.
First rest stop after crossing into North Dakota
Cary fixing his bike seat at our campground, Ft. Abraham Lincoln State Park. We were finally able to relax and go for a bike ride, but the first thing we did upon arrival was (me) opening the slideout and catching the end table, causing a battery problem--the slide didn't want to go back in. We drove to Mandan to an RV dealer who didn't seem interested in helping us (We don't carry that brand, we don't have a mobile service), but gave us some other numbers to try.
Meanwhile, anticipating not being able to move from our spot, I tried extending our stay. The ranger on duty isn't allowed to take reservations, so I had to call an 800 number, pay the cost of reserving the spot, plus pay for another day of being able to drive in the park. And the stay itself. Luckily, this is a wonderful park, but I have to wonder why the hoopla. It could be made simpler by just rasing the price to cover it all. The poor lady on the other end of the line, knowing only her script, must have told me the same information six times before I said Good Bye!
Onto our bike ride: Cary tried adjusting the seat and four pieces came out of it. He sat down back at our site to work on it and the chair fell over. But we got all the problems out of the way that first afternoon and the rest of our visit was wonderful.
I wanted to get the sights and sounds of our 4th of July on the Missouri River. Fireworks started going off July 3 and continued into the 5th! We didn't get any closer that night, but could see lots from our RV space.
Our guide led us through these recreations of the homes in the village. It was a matriarchal society.
Cary listens from his seat on one of the buffalo (bison) hide covered beds.
A bull boat, note the paddle to help with water resistance, since this type of craft was rowed from the front in circle 8 motions.
Each home in the village faced the center. This structure represented a creator figure.
Another part of our walk took us out to this block house, a lookout for a fort.
You could see 360 degrees from up here, wonderful!
That is the Heart River behind me.
I managed to forget to take a picture of the front of the George Custer House, but this is a side view. We were treated to a great tour by a guide dressed as a 7th Cavalry soldier from the Custer era, who warned us that he would be speaking inside the house as if it were 1875. This was actually Custer's home, rebuilt after the first one burned down. Several of the orginal items were saved and pointed out to us along the tour. I gathered from his talk that there was a problem with the mortar, and the insulation at the time was soaked in petroleum, not a good combination. Mrs. Custer regretted that she could not manage to save the wig made from her husband's hair and worn on special occasions! That is something Cary learned from one of his many books on Custer.
When the house was rebuilt, Custer used the architect's plan as a suggestion, making several changes, including enlarging this roon so more people could be entertained here.
Some of the china is original with a C monogram.
Mrs. Custer's hip bath
The bed in the master bedroom. There was a bed for the cook, one upstairs for the two housekeepers, younger sisters of the cook. There is also a guest room.
Another modification, since the Custers didn't have children, this was made into a game room for billiards and cards!
There is also a basement, which at one time housed a wildcat or bobcat until it could be shipped back east to a zoo. Unfortunately the cook had to go down there every day to get the food needed for the day's menu. It was chained up, but pretty unnerving since she was using a candle to illuminate the area!
The stables for the Cavalry were also recreated where it was thought to be located, later learning that they were off a few degrees.
I found this very fascinating: each company had a different color horse!
We were told that this campground had only been open since June 1. Last year it was under water up to the line you see on these trees! Needless to say, lots of the things had to be rebuilt to make the park usable.
All for now, my fingers are sore!
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