The Great Mikegration

Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center in Washburn, ND.

Adventure Map Days 6-12

Day 6: 06/19/22

• Last nights at somewhere that you love are always hard to say goodbye to however this was that day. We had a lot of miles to go today and some planned and unplanned stops to make, (Yes, we ALWAYS have unplanned stops!) so we were out the door by 6am with a heavy heart but looking forward to the next adventure.

• We couldn’t resist one more early morning peek at the park and our daughters had made me promise to open their Father’s Day card for me at the park. What a great morning!!! My daughters being who they are made sure to mention in the card that I could redeem the card for my free Father’s Day gift between June 20th and June 24th knowing I wouldn’t be back by then. Good planning girls!!! I raised you smart and right! Love you to! LOL

• Saying a farewell to the park for real this time we headed out via I-94 E. We had originally planned to go further west however due to all the flooding at Yellowstone and area we decided it wouldn’t be a good idea. Many people were already evacuating and headed towards us. It was pretty bad.
• Having said all the above we really were at a bit of a loss on what to do next. As we thought about it we decided that it would be nice to head across North Dakota to just look at the views and see what we saw along the way. Fortunately we managed to find a few things to hold our attention for the day!
• As you head west for about an hour and half from Medora you’ll see a giant Holstein cow on top of a hill. Being who I am I couldn’t resist checking it out a little closer. Ends up it was Salem Sue. For those of you who like me didn’t know about her. Salem Sue is the world’s largest Holstein cow. She is 38 feet tall, 50 feet long, and weighs about 12,000 pounds. She was built in 1974 by the local area businessmen, residents, farmers, dairymen, and the dairy industry. Obviously New Salem is recognized as one of North Dakota’s pre-eminent dairy centers.

• After a short hike to the top of the hill we were back on the road! The stop here worked out really well because it was also the exit we needed to take for Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site. Basically, take ND-31 N and take a quick right turn on to ND-200 and left on ND-31N and you’re there. Takes about 40 minutes and quite worth the trip.
• Knife River Indian Villages is devoted to educate people about the lives of the Norther Plains Indians on the Upper Missouri. They lived in earth lodges and while they did hunt bison and other game they were basically farmers living in villages along the Missouri River and its tributaries. This site was a major Native American trade center for hundreds of years. They have a wonderful exhibit area that has an incredible amount of information in it as well as some great relics. There is an earth lodge on site that will blow your mind when you go into it and look around and lastly there is a lot of room for a walk down to where the old earth lodges/villages were. The walk is beautiful however there are only some mounds left now. The only earth lodge you can go into is the one by the Visitor’s Center. For you Lewis and Clark buffs this is one of the spots they stopped in on their journey both to and fro. 1804 on the way out exploring and 1806 when making their way back home. I’ll post a few pictures below for perusal.

• As I said the walk is very peaceful and beautiful. Here’s what you can expect to see on the walk to the river / old Awatixa Village.

• Again, there is not any remains left of the old Awatixa Village however it’s beautiful to think about it in your head as you walk back towards it. It’s very easy to see in your mind eye.
• Leaving here we headed on to our next stop of the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center in Washburn, ND. Take note that it’s only a 45 minute drive or so and you’ll have an opportunity to stop off at the Fort Clark Historic Site and I think another one also (can’t remember for sure). We did stop at the Fort Clark site however not much remaining there.
• After the quick stop at Fort Clark we arrived at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. It’s a nice center overall although I’ve been to a couple others that I did think were better. Perhaps I was just getting tired from the day…..

• One thing that was very outstanding here was that you could buy tickets to go to Fort Mandan. At the time we went Fort Mandan Visitor Center was closed and the only way you could go was by buying tickets at the Interpretive Center. The Visitor Center there looked very nice and hopefully they will get it back open again pretty quickly. Fort Mandan was only a 5 minute drive up the road and if you are in the area I highly recommend it. Very informative and a beautiful area. You’ll be greeted by a statue of Seaman when you drive in. Seaman was the name of their Newfoundland dog that went with them on their adventure. Lewis and Clark wintered here in 1804 so he was onsite helping. Make sure and read the Below the Freezing Point; I wouldn’t have wanted to be working here then!

• I did realize that the Fort was a replica of the original but what I didn’t realize was the original Fort was 10 miles west of this location and in the middle of the river channel. I like this one better!

• It’s about 3pm now so we decided to make it to Fargo to spend the night. As luck would favor us we went fast and were able to stop at the National Buffalo Museum in Jamestown, ND. If you’re a buffalo addict like me you’ll want to make the stop. They have a museum with a white buffalo (White Cloud) and more information than you’ll know what to do with. Onsite is also the world’s largest buffalo at 26 feet tall and 46 feet long. He’s known as Dakota Thunder. There is also a really neat Frontier Village you can go through. Basically it’s a ton of fun for everyone!!! I took more pictures that I care to admit here. If you’re not a buffalo fanatic like me you may want to skip these pics however they are very interesting and I learned a lot going through the museum.

• The Frontier Village town has a lot of different buildings and such however I only ended up taking pictures of the Louis L’Amour tribute building as he was born in Jamestown. It was getting late and they closed the area down at 6pm so we were hustling pretty hard to be respectful. Just know there is more to see and do if you make it here.

• Back on the road for the final time of the day and we made it to our hotel (the Element Fargo) in Fargo for the night at about 7:30pm. Fortunately it was a nice hotel and we were able to get a good nights sleep after our long and adventurous day.

Day 7: 06/20/22

• Wow…..what a great nights sleep. There isn’t much going on today except for a lot of driving, About 745 miles worth today to name a number. We had to head south to get back home and we thought that Hot Springs National Park wasn’t to far out of the way and we always had wanted to go there so….. we’d head back home in that direction.
• I can without a doubt say the best part of the day was at the very beginning of the day. Yes, there were sight to see along the road and all that however nothing beats a great donut to start your day!!!
• Sandy’s Donuts & Coffee baby! This is a great donut stop. We stopped at the 4215 45th St. S, Suite 100, Fargo, ND location. The donuts and coffee were both outstanding. Their motto is “We didn’t invent the donut… but we perfected it.” For you non-believers take a look and feast your eyes upon them!

• Fortified for the drive we headed on south. The rest stop just south of Sioux City, IA is the Sergeant Bluff Rest stop right off I-29 S. The rest stop and monument here honors Sergeant Charles Floyd who was the only man to die on the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

• As a side note the rest stop is very clean and well maintained. We stopped and had a quick food break as it was about 1pm.
• We were headed on to Joplin to spend the night and saw this just south of Percival, IA. Only had time for a quick pic but thought it was highly appropriate considering the miles driven and it was 3pm and I was looking for a cup of java to keep me running.

• Sadly, no java was to be found though so I had to power it on through. I was very happy to get to the Home2 Suites in Joplin that night. We ended up rolling in about 8:15pm and was looking forward to a good nights sleep. I do love Home2 Suites as a general rule. Big rooms and usually quiet. Didn’t disappoint at all.

Day 8: 06/21/22

• Good morning! We had talked a little more last night and decided to head on to Vicksburg, MS tonight depending on when we were finished at Hot Springs National Park. A little out of the road but not to bad. I love the Visitor Center there and the old battlefield so didn’t take much to convince me or maybe it was me convincing her?
• So, to backtrack a little bit it was a driving day for the most part. Wake up, eat hotel breakfast buffet food, hit the road and drive through Fort Smith to arrive at Hot Springs National Park around noon.
• The drive was lovely and we thought about how pretty some of the areas would be during the Fall when the leaves would be changing colors. Once in Hot Springs we took the super windy road through town and took the scenic drive through the park. We did a few stops and some short hikes. We didn’t do the observation tower though as we thought the views were pretty spectacular without having to go any higher. The highlight was at the end of the drive where we stopped to fill up our water bottles with water from the springs. Several people were there filling up five gallon bottles to take back to their house however we only did a couple of gallon jugs. The water tasted good but alas, didn’t make us any younger although the adventure did make it seem like we were!

• After topping off our water supply it was back on the road to get to Vicksburg, MS before it got to late.
• We ended up rolling into town and getting to my go to hotel in Vicksburg about 9pm that night. The Hampton Inn by the Vicksburg National Military Park is where I always try to stay. The rooms are quiet and comfortable, the staff is awesome, the military park is just across the street. It’s a great spot to be!

Day 9: 06/22/22

• Another great nights sleep at the Hampton Inn and onward to Destin Beach, FL we decided cause, why not??
• We got up and walked around the Military Park but didn’t do the drive through because we needed to be gone before they opened that part up.
• We then did what I do every time I spend the night in Vicksburg which is go to Divine Donuts off of Halls Ferry Road, get a bear claw donut and drive to the Mississippi Welcome Center to just sit and look at the mighty Miss flowing by. It’s always a peaceful experience to me and one I try to do very early in the mornings as it’s so quiet. You can see more pics and details of this on my April 26th post where I do part of the Natchez Trace Parkway.

• Back on the road after a few deep breaths, over through Jackson, down through Mobile, and arrived at the Courtyard by Marriott Fort Walton Beach-West Destin.
• We had a wonderful view from the hotel of the beach but we were pretty hungry from the drive so after getting our luggage inside we to Stewby’s Seafood Shanty to grab a bite to eat. The food was ok but not outstanding. Service was very good. Maybe we were just tired; anyway quick bite to eat and back to the hotel so unpack, relax, and take some walks on the beach. While it wasn’t a huge driving day we did do about 355 miles so were in the car quite a bit. It felt good to stretch our legs out walking by the ocean.

• Not many people were out on the beach at 8pm and we loved it! It felt like we had the entire beach to ourselves. After our last walk we decided to call it a night and get to bed early. No driving for us tomorrow!!

Day 10: 06/23/22

• Always a good morning to wake up on the beach….well, in a hotel room where you can see the beach anyway…lol
• Today was a day of rest and relaxation. We walked on the beach and just did nothing in general. We did go out to eat this evening at the Magnolia Grill which was very cool. The food and service was good and while I don’t have any pics to share of the menu the history of the building is pretty neat.

• That was it for the day. Back to the hotel and beach walking followed by an early bedtime. Night!

Day 11: 06/24/22

• It was a lazy morning for us as we got up and decided today was the day to head back home. There was a lot to do in the area and on the way back (and you can see this on my other blogs where I did!) however today was just going to be a relaxing driving day to Lafayette where we would spend the night.
• Nothing much exciting on the drive as it was mainly just windshield time with the occasional rest stop or pointing out something funky on the side of the road. No Roadside America stops or anything like that as we were just wanting to get to the DoubleTree by Hilton in Lafayette for the night. We got to the hotel about 5pm (Ugh.. Lafayette needs to work on their pothole filled roads!) and got checked in. The manager was really cool and even though the hotel was busy he did give us a nice room upgrade that we very much appreciated.
• We had starved ourselves on the drive as we were wanting to eat some great seafood that night. Drago’s was our choice and it was a GOOD choice! We ate way to many grilled oysters and just had a blast overall. The service was great; in fact everything was great. It was one of the best restaurant experiences we had had in quite some time.

• After our successful feast at Drago’s we headed back to the DoubleTree for an early night and to plan out the next day.

Day 12: 06/25/22

• Waking up after a great night’s sleep we sadly knew it was our last day to be on the road as tonight we’d be home. Ok, let’s be honest here. Once I’m on the road traveling home is wherever I am that night. I’m sure I’d get tired of it at some point and want to be home, but it just hasn’t happened yet. Others around me may or may not feel that way…….
• Being in Lafayette we didn’t want to eat breakfast at the hotel with all the great cajun breakfast options around us we decided to drive to the Cajun Market Donut Company in Breaux Bridge about 10 miles away. I’d been there before to get their breakfast food and I would tell you to do the same. To me the Breaux Bridge location is better than their Lafayette location however I’ll let you be your own judge of that. It doesn’t really matter what you get here as it’s all good, but I always seem to end up with the boudin stuffed bread as I like it the best. The donuts are good also and for those of you who really know me you know it takes quite a bit for me to say to pass on the donuts to get the stuffed bread… Of course you can do what I do and get both!
• Having feasted for the rest of the drive today we proceeded onward. We did decide to go a little out of the way today and drive up to Cane River Creole National Historical park in Natchitoches, LA.
• Cane River Creole is a pretty neat place even if it did take us a bit of driving to get there. It was established in 1994 to preserve the resources and cultural landscapes of the Cane River region. It’s about 63 acres and includes two the Oakland and Magnolia French Creole cotton plantations. The plantations are the most intact plantations in the United States so lots of buildings to wander through, furnishings to looks at, and landscape to walk around and take it all in. All in all it’s well worth the drive to get to and we really enjoyed just wandering around the grounds and driving some around the area.

• There is a lot more to the grounds than what I show on my pictures as I was more focused on the history of the area than the other. Rest assured the grounds are very pretty and worth the visit. Make sure and go to their website to get a better idea of what to expect when visiting here.
• After we left Cane River we swung around through Logansport, LA to see The Bucking Horse which hangs on a storefront about 2 blocks away from the Texas state line. Why would there be a statue in Louisiana of a cowboy on a bucking horse you may ask. In the 1900’s Logansport was known for having Texas-style gunfights in the streets. This statue which was erected in the 1950’s is a tip of the symbolic hat to the town’s Wild West origins.
• As you keep driving the last two blocks to cross the state line into Texas you will see Big Sand Bass on a Pole just before you cross the bridge. The Sand Bass swim up the Sabine River to spawn every year and the Sand Bass on a Pole is an ode to the annual fishing tournament the town holds every year. It’s a cute little town so spend a few here on your way through next time.

• We drove on into Texas and then down through Milam and Jasper until we made it back home. We enjoyed the drive down along the Toledo Bend reservoir and through part of the Sabine National Forest on TX-87 as the scenery was very pretty. Lots of commercial chicken houses in the area as well so be aware of that. You could make a fun game of spotting them with the kids if you wanted to. It took about five and a half hours for us to get home from Logansport, LA and overall we were in the car almost 9 hours today for around 490 miles. We were pretty happy to be rolling in that evening and have a glass of wine and share memories of the trip before we called it a night.
• Overall, a successful trip. Almost 5,000 miles, 14 states were visited, several National Parks, Donuts were had, Buffalo were spotted, beaches were walked upon, and sights were seen that we had never seen before.
• As always, I can’t wait for the next adventure!