Bison Girl: Exploring our backyard

Corey and I agreed that today was the most beautiful day of the year - it was in the high 60s and sunny with a very light breeze. We spent most of the day working on things in the yard and watering plants (we haven't turned on the sprinklers yet - for fear that it may still get down below freezing). After getting our share of sunlight, we headed out south of Mandan, ND, to Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park (about 10 minutes from our house).

We do a pretty good job of exploring and enjoying our local attractions but this is one that we have seriously neglected. We had a great time at the park and we didn't even have time see everything before they closed. We'd be happy to take any of our summer visitors there!

First stop: the infantry post block houses

We climbed to the roof to get the 'good view' of Bismarck and Mandan. The center of the photo in the distance is the state capitol building.

To the south, the Missouri River bottoms (and me).

Looking though one of the tiny (gun) windows to another blockhouse.

I bet this place would look even better in the summer or fall when the trees are leafed out and everything is green.

This is me. One trip to the top of a blockhouse was plenty of heights for me for one day. Corey made another trip up to the top.

Can you see the moon?

We spent about 30 minutes in the museum and then our next (and final stop) was the On-A-Slant Village.

This was the former location of over 80 Mandan Native American earth lodges.

The women of the tribe built and owned them.

The Mandan tribe abandoned this location in 1871, after small pox and war wiped out over 80 percent of their tribe. in 1875, General Custer's army claimed the area as part of their fort (hence the blockhouses above).