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July 13, 2006
Great Plains Roadtrip: North Dakota History
After leaving Deadwood last Wednesday we drove up into North Dakota and went to Theodore Roosevelt National Park where we hiked the short Ridgeline Trail. It gave us a great view of the badlands. The park does a good job of linking TR's later life to his experiences in North Dakota as a young man. The park also liberally uses their favorite Roosevelt quote: "I never would have been President if it had not been for my experiences in North Dakota." It's probably the most flattering thing anyone has ever said about the state. After a bit more driving we spent the night in Dickinson.
Thursday was the most interesting day of the trip because it dealt with family history. First, we visited Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site which is significant because Toussaint Charbonneau - husband of Sacagawea - is a distant cousin. I have another distant (and I stress the word "distant" here) cousin who committed an atrocious crime in the same region 75 years ago. I won't go into detail here; let's just say that the locals that we met at the nearby museum were quite excited to meet relatives of one of the most heinous criminals in North Dakota history.
After creeping ourselves out by walking in my cousin's footsteps we headed southeast, stopping at Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site. The area was home to several thousand members of the Hidatsa tribe until the late 1800s. I was surprised to learn that the Hidatsa were not all that different from the Apalachee who I learned about in Florida. I was even more surprised when I bumped into Dr. Tom Isern, who was one of my professors at North Dakota State University. He was leading a group of teachers into Canada and they had stopped at the villages for a quick visit.
The remainder of the trip was uneventful. We spent Thursday night in Bismarck and then drove I-94 all the way to the Twin Cities on Friday. Many people would consider a road trip through the great plains pretty boring but it was actually a lot of fun. We saw some beautiful landscape and got a good taste of history as well.
Posted on July 13, 2006 at 2:32 PM
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