Rivers West Tour - Day 14

Today started with another motor coach tour.  Our first stop was the North Dakota Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center.  Outside was this large statue.

Inside were lots of exhibits about the expedition and life along the river.

This tree of birds also attracted a lot of attention from some of the ladies who spent quite a bit of time checking out what sound each bird made.  I don't think any were purchased though.

Our second stop was at Fort Mandan.  The fort is a square with rooms all around the outside and a large courtyard in the middle.  Our guide brought out a deck mounted blunderbuss without the deck mount.  It was very heavy, but many of us took our turns holding it; some better than others.  The wagon master stood close by to grab it if necessary.

They also served us a catered lunch of chicken noodle or dumpling soup, sandwiches and cookies.  After eating I wandered over to check out the statue of Seaman, Merriwether Lewis' dog.

There was also supposed to be a muzzle loader demonstration, but there was a miscommunication as to where it was to be held so it didn't happen.  I was looking forward to it, because I remember my dad doing this.  I'm told there will be another demonstration later in the tour.

Tomorrow we visit Fort Abraham Lincoln, On-a-Slant Village, George Custer's Home, the North Dakota State Capital and the North Dakota Heritage Center.

Rivers West Tour - Day 13

 Today we traveled from Fort Pierre, South Dakota to Bismarck, North Dakota.  

We're given a route to follow each day and the wagon master goes over it at our drivers' meetings which take place the evening before we travel.  Today, we were supposed to follow the Missouri River with all its twists and turns, but we chose to take a more direct route instead.  

Most of the roads we've driven have been one or two lanes (in each direction) and very straight and this was no exception.

Tomorrow, we're visiting the North Dakota Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center and Fort Mandan.

Rivers West Tour - Day 12

 FYI - I've been without Internet for over a week so I'm behind on this blog.  We now have MIFI so I can blog again.  Of course, having the time to do so is also an issue and I know I'm forgetting a lot of stuff.

Today we were in Fort Pierre/Pierre, South Dakota.  This city is interesting, because one side of the river is on Central Time and the other is on Mountain Time.  We stayed on Central Time during our time here.

This is the view from our campsite.  We're on a hill which overlooks the city.

Today we visited the South Dakota State Capital.  The first two pictures are some of the first ladies and their gowns for their husbands' first inauguration.  

The next one is of the wagon master taking a picture of the dome.  Several others got smart and took selfies instead.

 These are pictures of some of the features of the capital.  The floor is terrazzo and was hand laid.

 

We also visited the South Dakota Cultural Heritage Building, but again, I only took one picture.  This time it was of the outside of the building.

We were treated to dinner at the Cattleman's Club Steakhouse.  David ordered a 12-ounce sirloin and I ordered the jumbo shrimp and we shared.  Personally, I wish I'd just eaten the shrimp.

Tomorrow is a travel day and the destination is Bismarck, South Dakota.

 

Rivers West Tour - Day 11

It was another travel day, this time from Sioux City, South Dakota to Oacoma, South Dakota.   There were two planned, but optional stops along the way.  Most of the group, including us, bypassed both of them.  Instead, several of us decided to visit the Corn Palace in Mitchell instead.

We had another minor incident along the way though.  I forgot to lock the dish cupboard and when David made a very sharp turn, the cupboard came open.  Fortunately, we only lost one medium sized bowl.

At the Corn Palace, we were able to park on the street behind it and therefore, got to see some of the decorating process.

Prepping the Dock Weed

A Portion of the Design Wall

After the Dock Weed has been added

The Section They're Working On

The murals follow a different theme each year. The theme for 2022 is "Under the Big Top"

On the way to the campground is a Rest Area with a statue of Sacajawea, a small museum and a view of the Missouri River.  We didn't visit the museum and took in the view from the highway, because of a time crunch, but here's the statue

and the view of the river.

Once we arrived at the campground, we went to the Akta Lakota Museum and Cultural Center which includes an Indian School.  We were fortunate enough to get a ride with another couple so that we didn't have to unload the car from the tow dolly just for that trip.

The first thing I saw when entering the center was a wall of quilts.  The tour guide explained that these are called star quilts and one is given at each life event and every person is buried with one.

 There was also one that I believe was a crazy quilt.

Finally, there was one made up of embroidered squares similar to the quilts I do for charity.

We again saw a movie; this one explained what life was like for the Plains Indians as they followed the buffalo.  After the movie, a descendant of the Lakota gave us a guided tour of all of the exhibits.  I was amazed at the bead work and other decorative crafting that was done.  There was a lot of it since the Plains Indians were known for their colorful celebration attire.

When we left, they gave us each a bag of information about the museum and a couple of dream catchers. 

We've been seeing these signs a lot on our travels, but I doubt you'll ever see one in southern California.  If you did, most everyone would be violating the law during rush hour!

 Tomorrow we travel to Fort Pierre, South Dakota where we'll board a bus for a tour of the state capital and the South Dakota Cultural Heritage Center. 

Rivers West Tour - Day 10

We were supposed to leave the campground by 8:00 a.m. to arrive at Fort Atkinson by 9:00 a.m.  But, both of us were worn out from the previous couple of days and there promised to be a whole lot of walking involved so we decided to skip it and go straight to tonight's campground.  

We took our time getting ready and David gave me a driving lesson that involved using both feet and the parking brake to hopefully avoid what happened on the 6th.  (He's fine, by the way) We finally left about 10:30.  We stopped for gas and lunch and arrived at the Sioux City KOA about the same time as the rest of the group.

At the drivers' meeting they served pizza and wings made by the campground.  We had planned on leftovers, but they'll have to wait until tomorrow.  They also showed the movie "The Long Long Trailer" with Desi Arnez and Lucille Ball.

Tomorrow we're traveling to Oacoma, SD with a visit to the Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center after arriving in the campground.

Rivers West Tour - Day 9

Today started with boarding another bus.  This one took us to the Lewis and Clark Monument at Council Bluffs, IA.  The docent gave us information about the expedition's travel from the southern Nebraska/Iowa border to the northern Nebraska/Iowa border.

 Next we stopped for a picnic lunch at a lovely park that I never got the name of.  Lunch was provided by the wagon master and his wife and was a salad with chicken, but you could add cheese, olives, bacon bits, cucumbers, and tomatoes.  There was also fruit and Oreos available.

Both sites had some beautiful views.

Our next stop was Father Flanagan's Boys Town.  Boys Town is a home for children aged 10 through high school who need a restart at life.  They live in family homes with two teacher/parents and five to seven other children of the same sex.  They attend school, play sports, and learn vocational trades.  The average stay is two years and the kids come from all over the country.

 The first stop there was the Catholic Church and Father Flanagan's grave.

The second stop was the History Center which was full of exhibits, newspaper clippings, photos, etc.  Scattered among these were various statues depicting scenes from the history of the school.

 We also stopped at Father Flanagan's home where this desk was located.  It was made by some boys at the school and took three years to complete.  It was then given to Father Flanagan for his birthday.

The last stop was the Visitor's Center where they have a display of stamps, pictures made of stamps and the largest stamp ball in the world (it started as a golf ball).

Our day wasn't over yet, because after returning to the campground, and a short drivers' meeting, it was time for dinner.  A couple of places had been recommended by several of the group and one reminded us a lot of Famous Dave's (a local to us barbecue place) so that's where we went.  We saw three other couples there and one of them joined us for dinner.  The food was good and so was the conversation.

Then it was time to head out to watch a melodrama called "Something's Rotten in Green Bend".  I'd never been to a melodrama before and didn't know what to expect.  Apparently, it's an interactive play with the audience throwing popcorn and/or folded dollar bills.  The actors fought over the dollar bills and threw popcorn back at the audience.  The kids in the audience had a great time.  During intermission, a man came out to sweep the popcorn back at the kids so they could refill their containers for the second half.

When we left the theater, it was raining very hard and the lightening was constant.  It was the worst storm we'd ever been in, but then we're from southern California.  I'm told by some midwesterners that this was a minor storm compared to some they'd experienced.  We did manage to find our way back to the campground using our GPS, but both of us were soaked just walking from the car to the RV.

Tomorrow we travel to Fort Atkinson with stops at Fort Atkinson and an optional stop at Lewis and Clark State Park.