Day: August 9, 2023

Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site

August 7, 2023 – Traveling with Rich & Julie

We woke up from sleeping overnight in the Walmart parking lot and traveled about 155 miles to the Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site in Stanton, ND, knocking another place off the list in my National Parks Book.

This site was established in 1974, to preserve the historic and archeological remnants of the Northern Plains Indians called the Hidatsas, of North Dakota. This area was a major trading area for these peoples. There are three distinct villages known to have inhabited the area. They are the Big Hidatsa Village, the Lower Hidatsa Village, and the Awatixa Village.

Just behind the visitor center is a replica of one of the large earthmound dwellings. It was much larger than I expected it would be. It smelled as soon as you entered and pulled back the heavy buffalo hide hung across the opening. I’m not sure what the smell was…dirt or hot air. It would take some getting used to.

If you walk the trails to the village sites, you will see large circle indentations in the ground where the mound dwellings were. Established earthlodge settlements along the Knife River date to circa-1525 CE. They thrived until 1837, when smallpox greatly reduced the population of Indians living here.

The Awatixa Village was the village where Sakakawea (also known as Sakagawea) lived. This is where Lewis & Clark first met her. The Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail is also here and you can drive the trail and follow the signs.

We left here and headed to our home for the next week near the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Thanks for joining us on this traveling journey.

The World’s Largest Buffalo

August 6, 2023 – Traveling with Rich & Julie

Sunday, August 6, we left the Pipestone Family Campground and drove Hwy 29 from South Dakota up to Fargo, North Dakota where we got on I-94. Heading west on I-94 we stopped at Jamestown, ND to see the World’s Largest Buffalo and the Frontier Village and Buffalo Museum.

The parking lot at the museum was large enough to get the motorhome in and turn around. If the parking lot had been completely full of other vehicles though, there might not have been room.

The sculptor’s name is Elmer Paul Petersen. The bull was erected in 1959. His name is Dakota Thunder. He weighs 60 tons, is 46 feet long, 14 feet wide, and 26 feet high. That is a lot bigger than our motorhome.

There is a gift shop inside the National Buffalo Museum. We walked around a little bit, but I have hurt my right knee and just can’t walk much right now. It was too far of a walk for me from the parking lot to the Frontier Town and to the large buffalo, so I settled for pictures from afar.

After a short visit here, we drove over to the Walmart parking lot in the Buffalo Mall and spent the night. We always call ahead and ask the Walmart’s if they allow overnight parking. This one does. See you tomorrow.