Across the Top - Montana to Minneapolis

July 7-15, 2018
Havre - Glasgow, Montana; Williston - Minot - Devil's Lake, North Dakota; Bemidji, Minnesota

Just south of Saint Mary, Montana, we turn east on Highway 2. We'll be on this road for 1,100 miles!

Our first stop is Havre, Montana, where we have reservations for two nights at the Havre RV Park. Even without their remodeling construction, this is one of the strangest (not in a good way) parks we've ever been to. It's hot, I'm cranky, and although I wanted to see the Buffalo Jump here, I now just want to leave.

Which we do the next morning. The beauty of a mobile life style is, well....being mobile! Being able to move on when we're not "feeling it", is worth forfeiting a single night's payment.

The little town of Glasgow, Montana is much better! We set up at the RV park connected to the Cottonwood Inn and Suites. Nice size grass and gravel sites, level with 50 amp FHUs. To celebrate we enjoy some of the best Mexican food and margaritas we've had in awhile. I'm sure I've said that a few times, maybe it's more unexpected in Montana? If you make a stop in Glasgow, be sure to eat at Fiesta Mexicana. 

Tuesday we sleep late and then take a drive to an interesting "closed-air-force-base-turned-strange-community" called St Marie, Montana. Pam and John did a great post about it, and since we've enjoyed the other weird places they've told us about, we figured why not? Weird people, weird places - we're in!

The same stark differences between the abandoned residences and the currently occupied exist today as they did when Pam and John visited four years ago.

Deteriorating multi-family homes, yards and roads.

There is definitely a creepy feeling here.

Nature is reclaiming an entire infrastructure.

Approximately 250 people have purchased and restored homes on the old base.

The only community building we see that is still being used. The schools, churches, hospital, stores and theater are all abandoned.

The air base itself is currently owned by the Montana Aviation Research Company, with fences, cameras and other signs of tight security.

In 2012 two self-proclaimed "sovereign citizens" paid the back taxes on 400 properties and took possession of the residences for an average of $504.00 each. Signs were posted that persons entering the area were trespassing against the "supreme law of the land", and the court battles began. Any hope of normalcy continues to evade this strange little community.

St Marie, Montana

This part of Montana has little visual variety. So what there is - there's lots of it!

Lots of grain silos - and 90% of them look brand new.

Lots of mills along miles of railroad.

Lots of wheat, alfalfa, soy.

Lots of cattle. These cuties were walking in a line along the fence until we stopped. Then they all stopped to look at us too. It was comical!

While every one drives a pick-up truck, there's lots of farm equipment being driven as well.

From Glasgow we continue east, through the new oil boom town of Williston, North Dakota, to Lewis and Clark State Park. There is no one else in the RV section so when our slide won't clear the tree branches they don't hesitate to move us. We have 50 amp but share water with our neighbor site. Nice shade trees so our satellite doesn't connect. Although the park is nearly empty for our two nights, someone camps next to us each night. What's up with that?

Plenty of other places to pull in.

North Dakota is our first new state since October - number 32! We get set up early in the afternoon, and spend the rest of the day checking out the countryside. 

The reality of eastern North Dakota. Oil fields are taking over the safflower fields.

A gas flare (or flare stack) burns behind an abandoned farmhouse.

Having read the sign, these cattle guard the cattle guard.

Tessa quietly watches the herd.

New derricks, new pipelines, new storage tanks - the oil boom is changing the look of the rolling hills here.

One of the few farms we saw.

Young cowboys and their dogs move the herd from one field to another.

There are dozens of gas flares throughout the area. They are usually signs of a testing period, as normally a company will sell the valuable natural gas rather than burn it off.

Even with the oil company invasion, this is a beautiful rural area.

Wednesday we check out the Fort Peck Interpretive Center and Museum at Garrison Dam. Lake Sakakawea is the largest lake in North Dakota, created by Garrison Dam on the Missouri River, the largest earth dam in the country. Big stuff here! 

This spillway is capable of moving 250,000 cubic feet of water down a mile-long concrete channel to keep the dam from overtopping. Eight of the fourteen gates are partially open today, allowing for a slow release.

Peck's Rex is the Tyrannosaurus Rex found in 1997, 20 miles from Fort Peck, and is the largest, most complete Rex ever found. 

North Dakota is the number one producer of honey in the country - over 33 million pounds in 2017.

It only takes a few minutes watching this hive to understand "busy as a bee".

Exhibit on the engineering of the dam.

A small exhibit on local fauna includes this cute little river turtle.

Although the name implies differently, Fort Peck was never a military installation. 

On our way home we drive along the lake and find a pretty day-use area for the fluffy dog to play. 

Thursday we make a one-night stop in Minot, North Dakota. The Roughrider RV Park is a nice, shady little park just off the highway. Our site is FHU, 50 amp under large trees. Our satellite connects, and the park WiFi works fairly well. Time to get laundry done :-)

In the afternoon we take a quick trip to see the Scandinavian Heritage Park - a small, lovely center dedicated in 1989 to the five Scandinavian countries whose people immigrated here. Each country is recognized by "remembrances and replicas" built in the park. I've read about this in a couple other blogs and am excited to see it on my own.

Swedish Dala Horse

Full scale Norwegian Stave Church

The simple altar inside the rustic church.

I'm surprised to the find the park in the middle of town. It's still a very pretty location.

Our next stop is Devil's Lake - the largest natural lake in North Dakota. We've been really surprised by the number of small lakes along Hwy 2 since we got to the state - there's a lot of water here!

Graham's Island State Park on the lake is a wonderful place. Our 100 foot pull-through site has 50 amp FHUs, although we don't need sewer for our two-night stay. Wide open skies give us satellite and it's dark and quiet at night.

We arrive on Friday afternoon and take a short drive to enjoy late lunch on the water at Proz Lakeside. On the deck we're entertained by boats launching and loading, and little ones playing on the water slide. It's a beautiful day.

Woodside Resort on Devil's Lake

This huge lake is surrounded by the Sioux Reservation of the Spirit Lake Tribe, agriculture farms, the town of Devil's Lake, and a large game sanctuary. With just a day here we decide to check out the history of nearby Fort Totten State Historic Site and the sanctuary.

On a snag in the lake, this beauty watches us pass on the road below.

Surrounded by a world of blue.

Fort Totten spent most of its life as a "Preventatorium", a boarding school created for the assimilation of native children into the European-American world surrounding them.

A suspicious looking student and his rugged companion.....

The collection of period items in the general mercantile is one of the largest I've seen. The boxes are all girdles and hose.

The Underwood Revolving Duplicator, cica 1908, was the precursor to the mimeograph machine.

The bottom floor of the old laundry is used to store carriages. 

The Pioneer Daughters of North Dakota maintain a small museum in one of the officers' quarters buildings.

I really like how they did these cubicles of different artifacts. Set up as individual vignettes, each one is enclosed in glass with an open panel in the middle to allow for better photography.

Some of the ingenuity of the day seems dangerous today - the piece with the metal bulb is a gasoline clothes iron!

During both the military and school years, the fort had its own hospital. This wheelchair was built from a diningroom chair around 1898.

This is a huge site, and restoration is ongoing by the state and the tribe.

The enormity of this restoration is clear in this unfinished section of the boys' dormitory.

While the boys were taught field and factory work, the girls learned cooking and sewing.

Want to immerse yourself in history? Rooms are available at the fort during the summer.

The history of the boarding school is not a pleasant one for the Sioux Tribe. While some students were quoted as saying the school prepared them for leaving the reservation, most felt they were stripped of their heritage and shamed into embracing the White-world. Through their hard work and allocation of resources, the tribe insures the reality of the past is available to everyone.

Next we spend an hour driving the loop through Sullys Hill National Game Preserve. The temps are in the high 90's so few animals are out in the sun. Still, it's a peaceful place to spend some time.

These Bison prefer the sun.

Mama and calf relaxing.

This cow nudges her calf to stand up as we approach. We laugh that they're "told" to pose for the tourists :-)

95 degrees, a million steps, and mosquitos - "I'm a gonna pass."

Prairie Dog Town is busy.

So nicely groomed.

"S'up dude?"

This lone bull is very intense.

We take our time along the shady trail.

Overlooking Devil's Lake

A subtle sunset for our last night in North Dakota.

Sunday morning we take our time getting ready. Back on Hwy 2, we head into Minnesota. We have three friends (two of them are married to each other) from high school in Bemidji, and were hoping to see them. Unfortunately, all of them are out of state this week! We're bummed to miss them, but we still have a lot to get done in the first good size town we've visited since we left Utah a few weeks ago.

Royal Oaks RV Park is a lovely stop just outside of town, and a nice place to call home for a couple days.

Whew!! We made it to Minnesota!