After a somewhat lazy morning we did laundry at the hotel guest facility. We then drove north through the rolling grasslands to the town of Mobridge, SD where we bought groceries. We crossed the Missouri River and visited the grave of Sitting Bull, monument to Sacajawea, and monument to Jedediah Smith, an early mountain man, trapper and explorer. After driving west just a short distance we continued north driving through the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. We passed the largest herd of buffalo that we have seen out west, several hundred in number. We soon entered North Dakota (state #47 on our life list to go to all 50 states).
Just south of the town of Mandan, ND we stopped to see the Fort Lincoln State Park. The fort operated from 1872 to 1891 and was established to protect work crews for the Northern Pacific Railroad. We visited the reconstructed commanding officers quarters. The house was Victorian style containing period furniture as well as several original items. George Custer and his wife lived there from 1873 until 1876 when Custer was killed at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Also at the state park was a recreated Mandan Indian Village. It was a large village with perhaps 2000 inhabitants that existed from the 1500s until it was abandoned due to a small pox outbreak in 1871. Our guide John was very knowledgeable about the Mandan Indian culture and we found both of the tours very interesting.
We then drove a bit further north to Bismarck, ND where we enjoyed dinner at Texas Roadhouse and then parked our van for the night at Walmart.
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