North Dakota Back Roads

Friday, June 30, 2017         Back roads of North Dakota

Today we explored the back roads, and I do mean back roads of North Dakota.  We traveled over 75 miles of gravel roads seeing some unusual sights.

First thing we visited the Medicine Wheel in Valley City, ND,  which was right down the road from our hotel.  This replica of a Native American feature was copied from an actual medicine wheel in the Big Horn Mountains of Wyoming. 

 There are a thousand  of these structures in America that the natives used to chart the movement of the sun through the Summer and Winter Solstice and the Spring and Fall Equinox.  It is said that this was the way the Indians paired the Sky with the Earth. 

This is the alignment to the sun on the Summer Solstice

  This park also had a replica of all the planets showing their relationship with the sun and a huge sun dial marking the changing of the seasons.  In this picture Bo and I are standing on the Sun.

This park had a great view of the town of Valley City and you could see the longest train trestle in the world. 

We decided to drive on an American Byway south of Valley City. 

 We visited the site of Fort Ransom. Although the fort is no longer standing you could see the foundations of the buildings. We were surprised to find a Viking village close to the fort and this huge statue of a Viking on the hill.   

 This road followed the Sheyenne River and had beautiful scenery of the rolling hills and this valley of ND.  We soon ran out of the pavement and continued on a gravel road for miles and miles. 

  We came across this stream crossing where you could actually see the path cut through the landscape where they forded the river. 

 The last place we visited was Standing Rock.  This was a sacred place where the Dakota Indians came to make offerings and hold ceremonies; it had a commanding  view of the valley.

Back on pavement we proceeded west to Jamestown.  This town has a bison herd with a sacred white buffalo named White Cloud.   

It also has a concrete statue of the largest buffalo in the world, Dakota Thunder. He weighs over 60 tons. 

From here we were once again on gravel roads, on the search of birds.  We were thrilled to see many birds, which we are still trying to identify. 

This Meadowlark serenaded us

 Then we came upon the wetlands where we saw all sorts of water birds.  Pelicans, Cormorants, Egrets, even one very friendly Marbled Godwit.  
 

Pelicans

Cormorants

Our friendly Marbled Godwit

 There were hundreds of ducks everywhere.  This part of the prairie is filled with potholes, which are small lakes, the perfect home for all this breeding waterfowl.   During our trip of over 50 miles we did not see one other vehicle.   A wrong turn took us to a farm way back in the country.  We are not quite sure why all these boots were hung on the fence posts, but it was unique.  

Back on the interstate we had to stop and visit Sandy the largest Sand Hill crane in Steele ND.  Although we didn’t see any sand hill cranes on our bird journey the signs said that they do breed here.

 What a wonderful day we had visiting all these back country areas.  This trip gave us a true appreciation of what makes North Dakota such a beautiful state.