Oh My!! 6 days to catch up

My last post was for the 4th of July and here it is the 10th. I have been on the road now for let's see - 31 days and my odometer just kicked over 23K. That means I so far have traveled about 4300 miles. That's an average of about 138 miles per day. That's not bad and about what I hoped to be doing.
I had a very pleasant stay in Hill City, SD; using it as my base for the touring of the Black Hills. I saw Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Custer State Park and Wind Caves NM.
It has been my move now to re-join Hwy 2 and continue my journey East as I originally proposed.
I came 'off the hill' on on July 5th and re-supplied in Rapid City a bit and moved on to Pierre/Fort Pierre for that night. Lake Oahe Dam Recreation Area was home that night. Being in the flat, I took out the bike and rode around a bit before it rained.

This is a huge earth dam that backs the Missouri River hundreds of miles north of here into North Dakota.
Wednesday the 6th was laundry day in the am, then had a look around the Capitol of South Dakota. Beautiful mid-west structure built in the early 1900s, once they decided where to build it. That took several years.

Detail of a 'detail' at their war memorial. No offense, but don't they all look a bit like GI Joe?

Fighting Horse - Done by the same sculpture as Crazy Horse. 

They seemed to want to give the Fireman's Memorial a facelift. Sawing off edge.

It was i bit late so I only made it to Mobridge and stayed on an island in the Oahe Lake run by the local Native American tribe. Then wind and more Rain!!
Thursday the 7th, I drove the short distance to Sitting Bull's resting site. Overlooking the Missouri River valley (now Lake Oahe) where he was not only born, but where he died.

Looking South at Sitting Bull's burial site.

The sculpture was done by Korczak Ziolkowski - the only sculpture in the Dakotas?
Thursday took me Minot, ND passing through Fort Mandan and Bismarck, ND. I didn't stop at this capitol building but I did stop at the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center at Fort Mandan. This is a first class Gallery of the Lewis & Clark journey and as importantly the Mandan and Hidatsa Tribes who lived here. This is where Sakakawea joined the Corp of Discovery for their journey in the spring of 1805.

This is only a replica of the fort. The true site is undiscovered but thought to be here

Somewhere under the Missouri River. Possible here on the other side.

Didn't rain this night but I did waste my money on a "authentic" Mexican meal. I repeat myself, but never eat at a restaurant that calls itself authentic and has pictures of the food in their menu. I think I'm still backed up from the Tex-Mex style cheese on everything. The beer was good though. Salza - nah.
Friday saw me back on Hwy 2 heading East. I stopped in the little town of Rugby, ND - the geographic center of North America.

Centering myself. Really!!!

They also have a very inclusive museum - Prairie Village Museum. For midwest Americana they have it. They have been collecting everything for buttons to Houses and their contents from the surrounding area for over 50 years. It is amazing. It has a heavy Norwegian and German flavor to some pieces (that were the original migrants to the area, when anyone could Homestead). Somethings I could remember seeing in my family's farms when I was much younger.

Old railway station They're refurbishing the caboose

Yep, they got a small town to give them their old church

Stayed that night in Devil's Lake (at Walmart). I have been trying my best to see large animals on this trip, but they seem to run when they hear I'm near by.

This is the only elk I've seen so far - nothing but Prairie Dogs here

This brings me to Saturday. I crossed over into Minnesota at Grand Folks where in 1997 the city was mostly destroyed by floods and then fires that leveled the downtown. It is a quiet small farm town of a sorts with a very active citizenry and has been named one of the best small towns in America several times. It was Farmer's Market day and just had to stop by.

Band shell jazz

Selling baked goods

Want some soap?

Pleasant small park for a timeout

Maybe I'm missing the celestial joke - maybe the love seat?

I'm now in Bemidji, ND - twenty points for all who know it and can pronounce it. It is the Home of Paul Bunyan. Last night I tried to redeem myself at picking dinner spots. I was looking at Yelp! of course and went to the small downtown in hopes. I got a call from my youngest and I stopped to talk in front of this Italian spot called Tutte Bene. Pizza joint, right?! Upscale, beautiful interior and marvelous food. Knock me over! Great dinner.
Made it back to the campsite and it poured!
Today I have been doing this and now we are all caught up.
Monday, I will check out this town (no driving today!) and then the headwaters of the Mississippi River.
Enjoy