Judge's 7-Week Midwest, Plains and National Park Trip Blog

[Judge]

Originally Posted by The_Breeze

He knows now.

Wait until you get the bill!

You guys make me laugh!

[Judge]

Yesterday we drove an hour north to the Knife River Indian Village Historic Site and learned about the Hidatsa indians. Here is a little info about them....

The Awatixa (meaning "Village of the Scattered Lodges") say they always lived along the Missouri near the Knife River. They lived along the Missouri near the Knife River. They tell of thirteen young couples that Charred Body brought from the sky to make a village overlooking the Missouri River. The thirteen lodges spread into thirteen villages which became the Hidatsa clans. Archeological evidence has confirmed the oral tradition revealing the "Flaming Arrow Site" approximately twenty miles south of the Knife River and dating to about 1100 CE.

The Awaxawi (meaning "Village on the Hill") tell of living in the earth and climbing to the surface on a vine. They met the Hidatsa-proper near Devils Lake in eastern North Dakota and the Awatixa along the Missouri River.

The three Hidatsa groups settled in three separate villages at the confluence of the Knife and Missouri Rivers. After a Sioux raid destroyed the Awatixa and Awaxawi villages in 1834, these groups joined the Hidatsa-proper near their Hidatsa (Big Hidatsa) Village. For this reason, the three groups today are together known as the Hidatsa.

In 1837, a smallpox epidemic struck the Knife River Indian Villages. The Hidatsa dispersed onto the plains, avoiding the worst effects, but still suffered a nearly 50% mortality rate. In 1845, the remaining Hidatsa, along with most of the surviving Mandan, moved 40 miles upriver to establish Like-a-Fishhook Village, their last traditional earthlodge village.

The replica of the "Lodges" they lived in was amazing.... made of wood, clay and grass. They were very roomy and up to 20 people lived in one lodge and they even kept their best horses inside with them.

[Judge]

In the evening we had tickets for the Lewis and CLark Riverboat Sunset Cruise.... unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate. After mid-90's for days in Nashville the temps here dropped to the low 60's after rain moved through eariler in the day. It was a cool and overcast evening so not sunset to be had.

We stopped at JL Beers for dinner before heading to the riverboat. Great burgers and chicken sandwiches and a wide variety of beers, ciders and sours and the prices were very resonable. It was located in a nice part of town with shops, restaurants and businesses all within walking distance.

Not much to see on the Missouri River in this part of the country. But the river levels looked to be down quote a lot due to the every hot summer and draought conditions. You could see a lot of very shallow areas in the river that the captain had to avoid.

I did learn that the Missouri is the longest river in the US at ovr 2300 miles. There were also some what seemed to be big homes on a hill out in the distance that probably had a nice view of the river.

Even thought I probably wouldn't recommend the Riverboat Cruise, it was a nice and relaxing evening after two long days of driving.

Later this morning we will break camp and head west about 2 1/2 hours to Medora, MD to see the North and South units of Teddy Roosevelt NP. Of course a brief storm had to blow through now..... I just love breaking camp when evetything gets soaked..... but that goes with the territory.

We'll be in Medora for 3 nights and the weather looks pretty good. We also have tickets to the Medora Musical - the Greatest Show in the West for Saturday night that has very good reviews. I hear good things about Medora and its small town western charm so it should be fun. We'll be staying at Boots Campground. Looks like a basic spot to camp for three nights but ony $45/night with full hook-ups.

[Bob Nodine]

Judge,

Check out Hart Ranch just outside Rapid City, SD. We have camped there three times and they have an onsite Rodeo every weekend. You do not have to be camping there to buy tickets for the Rodeo.

[The_Breeze]

Cool pics. Especially the indian stuff. The ingenuity and engineering for that time in space never ceases to amaze.

It's not along your current route but, if you like that kind of stuff, think about putting Homolovi State Park on your radar (Homolovi I & II). Two is better. I'd throw up some pics but don't want to ruin it for you. If you don't mind hiking, there's a place that could blow your mind.

It's right outside Winslow, AZ and RT 66 runs through that so you can be 'standing on the corner'...

[Pillbox]

Keep up the good work!
Terry
Ps do NOT look in the propane tank area, it’s all good there.

[Judge]

Originally Posted by Pillbox

Keep up the good work!
Terry
Ps do NOT look in the propane tank area, it’s all good there.

I though I saw a pair of socks in there!

[Judge]

Got to Medora, ND and Boots Camprground shortly after noon yesterday. Boots isn't too bad. It's about a mile outside of town in a remote location with nice views.

Boots Camprground Review:

It's a small camground with about a dozen sites and a few cabins. Most spots are very narrow such that you couldn't put out your awning or chairs without being on top of the the next spot. Some spots are right up against the cabins as well. There are no facilities here and not even an office. There is a bar in town called boots and that is where the people are who run the campground.

Based on pictures and reviews I tried to pick the best site when I booked back in January.... and I'd say I got one of the top two spots. We have plenty of room for the awning, chairs and grill and a great view with some privacy. WiFi seems very good and I was able to stream YouTubeTV last night without any problem.

Water pressure is only about 25 - 30psi so one of my latest upgrades is coming in handy. I grabbed the remote to turn on the electronic valve for my "City Water Fill to Fresh Water Tank" modification to top off the fresh water tank and I'm just running off the pump.

This site will be a good test for my front cap repair. It was fairly level front to back but failrly low on the drivers side. I ended up puttng a wood block under the levelers on the driver side to give them a better surface. Tires are all on the ground but the wheel wells are high over the tires.

We saw another campground in town.... Red Trail Campground.... and you can walk right into town. But it looked pretty croweded and tight and they don't have the views we have here. All-in-all we are pretty happy with this choice for $45/night, full hook-ups and good WiFi.

Here are some pics...... the last one is our view while sitting under our awning. We have a very similar view looking out the window of the rear of the coach from our bedroom at sunrise. I'm glad we picked this place over the one in town for sure.

[Judge]

We got to Medora early enough that we went out to Painted Canyon in the afternoon. We passed it on I-94 west heading into Medora and what a spectacular view! As you get into western North Dakota you start coming into the rolling hills but still mostly ranch and farm country. Then bang..... there is spectacular scenary you don't expect to see. I can see why Roosevelt was inspired and loved this part of the country.

It's a great part of the Badlands to see. We did a 30-minute hike, which wasn't too bad. It was sunny and in then upper 70's so it was warm. It was a bit steep going down to the bottom and back up but it was a nice hike.

Afterwards, we took a ride into town and grabbed some ice cream and walked around a bit. We'll see more of town tonight when go to the Medora Musical Show. When we got back to camp I fired up the grill and made steaks.... we had a few drinks.... then called it a day.

Today the plan is to go head to the South Unit of Teddy Roosevelt National Park. The entrance to this part of the park is right in town.

There was a driving loop but a section of the road is closed so you have to drive about 3/4 of the loop and then turn around. We will take the drive and do a short hike or two. We may try to venture out to the petrified forest if we have time to do that hike.

Tomorrow we will head up to the North Unit, which is about an 75-minutes away.

[paulwadley]

Wow Beautiful country with the hills. Thanks for posting them and I look forward to seeing more as you go along.


Paul

[Pillbox]

Judge,
Thanks for washing my socks, I thought I lost them.
Beautiful, awesome pics, thank you for doing these, I like them.
Terry

[The_Breeze]

Originally Posted by Pillbox

Judge,
Thanks for washing my socks, I thought I lost them.
Beautiful, awesome pics, thank you for doing these, I like them.
Terry

I think he mentioned picking them up with a long stick and burning them?

[Pillbox]

Oh heck,
Who’s socks am I wearing? They do feel like silk……
Terry

[The_Breeze]

Originally Posted by Pillbox

Oh heck,
Who’s socks am I wearing? They do feel like silk……
Terry

If they come up to your knees, they're his.

It's just what Judges do...

[Scubawise]

Nice pictures

[Judge]

Spent a little more than 4 hours in the South Unit of Teddy Roosevelt NP yesterday. Unfortunately part of the loop road is closed but it was still a great time site seeing.

We saw several Prairie Dog towns.... those little animals are a riot to watch and listen to..... wild horses and a Bison. Apparently we got lucky and just missed a rattle snake on a path we were hiking after talking to a Park Ranger.

The drought here is pretty bad..... it is visiible in the dry looking landscape but the real story is the Little Missouri River. It is normally 3 - 5' deep this time of year and you can barely call it a creek as you will see from some of my pictures.

[Judge]

We went into town after a late lunch at camp and walked around. Saw the town post office, bank and Teddy Roosevelt Library.

In the evening we heading to the Medora Musical 5:30pm show. They built a pretty large Ampitheater right into the side of a hill right outside of town. They have been putting on this show for over 50 years and over 4 million people have seen it.

It was a nice little show made up of local talent and was covering some of the history of the town.... but halfway through they stopped it and had everybody leave because of a storm in the area. It was sprinkling a bit and some dark clouds. They said we could come back for the 8:30pm show.

They claimed there was lighting was in the area.... but after getting back to the car you could see that the storm was well north of us and it never hit town so that was very dissapointing. We knew we would never make the 8:30pm show between the tme change and the hiking we did so the DW is going to see if we can get at least a partial refund... the show tickets were $140 for the two us.

We then headed back to town for a late dinner and drinks. We went to Boots Bar & Grll and sat on the rooftop seating area, Food was good and the view was great. Tomorrow we head to te North Unit of the park.

[Judge]

Hi the North Unit of Teddy Roosevelt NP. Another nice drive with plenty of scenary. Saw a lot more Bison today..... the last pic shows a big Bison on the a side of a large hill. Don't know how he got there but the picture doesn't do it justice to show how high he was up there.

The campground was pretty empty when we got back. Only about 3 or 4 campers left when we got back but 2 more came in since then.

Heading to Glacier tomorrow..... the last of the ~10 hour / 600 mile driving days. Looks like one more day of temps in the upper 70's there and then the temps will be in the low to mid 60's during the day and low to mid 40's at night. I guess the shorts and t-shirts will be going to the bottom of the drawers!

[Scubawise]

Great story pictures..I thought 4 uploads was the limit?

[Judge]

Originally Posted by Scubawise

Great story pictures..I thought 4 uploads was the limit?

10 is the limit in one post...... you can do 4... then another 4... an then 2.