Out West 2016 - Day 7

June 2, 2016 (Thursday)

Theodore Roosevelt - Maltese Cross Cabin

We headed back to the Theodore Roosevelt South Unit and got there when they opened. We watched the 17-minute video (just okay), checked out the museum displays (they were just okay) and looked at the Maltese Cross Cabin, Roosevelt’s first ranch cabin that was relocated next to the visitor center. From there we headed back east to the Theodore Roosevelt Painted Canyon Visitor Center. There was not a ton to see there, but I got my passport book stamped.

Knife River Indians National Historic Site

Our next destination was the Knife River Indians National Historic Site. We learned all about the Hidatsa people (15-minute orientation video) and got to look at artifacts that have been recovered from the village sites. Just outside of the visitor center was the Village Trail that leads to some of the village sites.  Quite honestly, the trail is pretty hot without much shade. I would recommend checking out the full scale reconstructed Earthlodge, which is right near the visitor center and not walk the rest of the way. There were some way signs to read, but not much else to see if you opt to walk the rest of the trail. If you do want to check out the rest of the trail you will see the remains of the Awatixa Xi’e Village (Lower Hidatsa Site) and Awatixsa Village (Sakakawea Site). The remains are basically grass fields.

Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center

Near the Knife River area are some other sites – Fort Mandan and Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center (Washburn) to name a few. We stopped by the Lewis and Clark location, but did not think it was worth the cost to visit the museum with the time we had available. The outdoor sculptures were neat.

Bismarck Capital Building

We took a drive to the state capitol of North Dakota – Bismarck.  Traffic was pretty heavy in the area and the capitol was the ugliest one we have ever seen! It is a 21 story building, which is said to be art deco style. It is the tallest building in the state of North Dakota and is known as the Skyscraper on the Prairie. In 2012, there was a slight debacle when Minnesota’s house majority leader (Matt Dean) called the building “embarrassing” saying that it looks like a State Farm Insurance office building. The North Dakota governor, Jack Dalrymple responded that those that don’t appreciate it know nothing about architecture. [1][2] Dean’s comments came while arguing for Minnesota to pay to fix its own capitol. [3] The original capitol building burned on December 28, 1930.

1.     "North Dakota bridles at neighbor's Capitol insult".  Associated Press. April 20, 2012. Retrieved 20 April 2012.

2.        "Gov. Dalrymple fires back after Minn. lawmaker calls Capitol embarrassing". Retrieved 20 April 2012.

3.         "N.D. Capitol called 'embarrassing' as vote fails to fix Minnesota's". Retrieved 19 April 2012.

 Continuing east we stopped for dinner at the Spitfire Bar and Grill in West Fargo, ND. It was very good! After dinner, we drove a few hours farther and stayed at the Best Western in Alexandria, MN. There was a very good breakfast there.