Fresh Walleye!

Ain't nothin' better! Quite an exciting evening and night around here. KayCee and I stayed home and attempted to have a slumber party while DH went with the camp host and they took his little boat to the Outlet of the Garrison Dam. They left here about 7:30 and by 9:30 a storm was boiling up and I knew there was no escape! While I was struggling with whether to put the slides in or not and watching the radar, DH was busy catching BIG Walleye. We had really hard rain and 44 mph winds. He caught four fish over the course of the evening, the biggest being 8 lbs 7 oz. and was 29 1/2 inches long, it was a hawg!
They got home about 1:30 a.m. and missed the storm. I was very disappointed that he didn't get any good pictures with his phone, but Ken took a few with his camera. He said he will e mail them to me, in the meantime, he went to Bismarck today and had one blown up into an 8X10 and I will frame it.
The end product was our lunch today and I do have pictures of the big fillets, hot off the grill. They were turned out delish! Our neighbor is an electrician from Minnesota and works at the power plant in the next town. He has a little bigger boat and he has the weekend off, so when he gets home later tonight, he's taking DH fishing again! I better watch out, or DH will be having so much fun he doesn't want to leave on Sunday. I don't have enough freezer space for him to keep catching big ones, and we can't eat it up fast enough. I had another friend from Nebraska look at my pics of the Enchanted Highway and tell us that's where they hunt pheasants! DH is liking North Dakota a whole lot, while I'm missing Montana! I went to the store a while ago and saw some "Flathead" Cherries. They're from the Flathead Valley in Montana south of Glacier Park. So good! The clouds are forming and we may be in for another round of weather tonight. As tired as I am, I will definitely put the slides in and go to sleep!

Native Amerian Ride

Many miles and a long day yesterday.
We headed south down the 1806, and it was early and I hadn't had a whole cup of coffee yet. I looked up and didn't think I was seeing right. I thought a guy was bicycling down a power line, so I turned around and went back! Sure enough, but he had a reason..they were restringing lines, and that was how he motivated across the lines so far up in the air with no truck. We drove on part of the Lewis & Clark Trail, Across the Standing Rock Reservation and along the Native American Scenic Byway by the Cannonball River and the Cannonball Community. The rocks on the banks of the river are almost perfectly round and therefore the name "Cannonball" exists. We made a quick stop at Fort Rice Recreation area, and then looking out over the Missouri River at Fort Yates, we took pause at the original burial site of Chief Sitting Bull.
According to folk lore, Sitting Bull was accidentally shot and buried on the bank of the river at Fort Yates, then several years later, some people from MoBridge S.D drove to the spot in 1953 and exhumed his body, taking it back to their town. The plaque claims it was done for 4 of his grandchildren. Never the less there is a sad tired memorial on top of a slab of cement to comemorate his life and death. We didn't take the extra drive to Mobridge however to look at that spot. We drove west and back north across the Standing Rock Reservation, stopping at a picnic shelter for lunch at the town of Breien.
We passed over the Hogback rock formations and found ourselves back in the city of Mandan, then on north to Bismarck. The Capital Building is a plain square piece of Archetecture that ws built in 1935 after a fire took the original one.
We were there late in the afternoon, so just got some photos of the exterior and grounds. We briefly stopped at the Lewis & Clark Intrepretive Center, but it was after closing there too, so we headed on back to Hazen.
DH is getting ready for a night fishing trip tonight with the Camp Host here. They will go and fish for walleye at the spillway of the Garrison Dam. I made reservations today at the Frontier Fort Campground and RV Park in Jamestown N.D. on Sunday. We will have a few fun filled days there and then move into Minnesota.

The Enchanted Highway

North Dakota has many scenic byways, and one of the most unique that I have seen is the "Enchanted Highway."
We combined a couple of drives yesterday, heading east and south through Buelah, past many fields and the Coyote Branch of a Coal Strip Mine and Electric Generation Plant.
We continued on south of I 94 to the town of Regent, that the sculptor of these Giant Metal Tribute Pieces calls home.
The 32 mile stretch of highway is between Gladstone on the Interstate and Regent, that holds a Convenience/Cenex Store and a Gift/Ice Cream Shop. Every few miles, one of these sculptures has a groomed spot, a parking and picnic area.
They are a delight to see and a salute to the land and this state. There's The World's largest Tin Family, Pheasant's on the Prairie, Teddy Rides Again, Grasshoppers in the Field,
Geese in Flight and Fisherman's Dream.
Wheat Harvest is in full swing. DH always enjoys getting out and watching the harvest equipment and crops being worked.
He hails from a farm family in Western Kansas and before he started his career, he used to work on a Harvest Crew, so is in the blood. On the way home we drove the Sakakawea Scenic Byway and stopped at the Knife River Indian Villages.
Too hot to leave KayCee in the car, so I went in for a quick tour of the Museum, watched a quick film about the tribes that inhabited the area, the Mandan and Hidatsa, and walked through the Earth Lodge on display.
I'm still undecided how long we will stay here. A road construction crew pulled into this park this afternoon, and I think it will be a little too active for us! I'm almost thinking that we will move on over to Jamestown on Friday or Saturday. Tomorrow we will do another big loop tour.

Lazy Sunday

Too hot to fish...too lazy to drive anywhere. Went to the show here in Hazen last night. Not too whoopy of a theater. Stale popcorn and flat pop. Spent $24.00 and could've stayed home. I guess I'm just grouchy today. I did enjoy the show..."Grown Ups" and can say that's one off my list.
It's 95 degrees today. It's supposed to be yuccky all week. Think we'll stay home and have ice cream later. DH kicked back and watching Pheasants Forever on TV. The season is getting closer! KayCee hasn't even left the couch today. She's being her typical House Frau self. We've seen some Pheasants up here, and there's more pheasant country where we're going in Minnesota. Just too bad that the season isn't on nowI have planned a big trip south for tomorrow. We will go south and back east. It will be a big loop and we'll explore some Native landmarks and Indian Villages I can hope it's cooler, but don't think I'll get my wish.
Wheat harvest is in full swing up here now, the fields and roads are full of semis and combines. The fields are HUGE. They have a lot of Canola fields in full bloom too.
I spent part of today planning for the future moves into Minnesota. Lots of miles yet to go and at least I have general direction. Now we have some ugly clouds overhead and we will probably get some rain. A cool down will not hurt my feelings, just keep the hail away!

Just Like Riding a Bike!

I wondered if Fishing possibly could be like riding a bike, when you haven't done it for a long time, does it all just come back to ya? Well Yes it does....We went to town this morning and visited with the city folks becaise I will get mail at their address, and just as I expected, they are really nice! We then found the car wash and tried it out. I started a pot roast in the crock pot this morning and did a couple loads of laundry, then loaded up the dog and the poles and headed for Hazen Bay at Lake Sakakawea, 15 miles north of here. We drove around checking out the boat docks, bought some nightcrawlers and found a spot. Check out the BBQ grills under water. They've had so much rain that this lake is super full. This picnic site is unaccessible from the road that leads to it, so we are set up as far as you can go. I went about setting up the lawn chairs and getting settled, DH rigged the poles. I started out with my heavy trolling pole that I use to fish from a boat with. Hadn't sat down with it for 10 minutes, had a bite and the line broke and I lost the fish! So I promptly took it back to the car and traded for my new "Ugly Stick" that I got last year for my birthday.
It's much lighter and lighter line. After two or three minutes I had the familiar tap tap tap....ah ha Gotcha!
............Yes it comes back. It was only drum.....I wondered what kind of fish I would get!I played catch and release today. I wanted Walleye, should have prayed harder to the Walleye Gods, but that's yet to come. I think I had a biggie on later and he got away too. It's a tricky place to fish. Lots of weeds and rocks....but ah yes...........it does come back to ya. I am planning on getting up early and washing the outside of the coach. I would rather just go fishing again!
That will be the second item on the agenda tomorrow! Maybe DH will catch a fish next time too!!!!

Small Town Wins

We have moved in the center of North Dakota to the small town of Hazen. Medora was on the edge of the "BadLands" with the town basically being a tourist hub with lots of lodging and shopping and museums.
DH took int he Cowboy Hall of Fame Museum, got a look at a "Colt" firearm that Mr. Colt gave to Buffalo Bill Cody. It had the Serial number on "1" on it. I went shopping. The shops were almost overwhelming with western gifts and jewelry. We didn't take in any of the performances or visit any other places there. I was just planning on one night and we spent two, and it wasn't enough time to take everything in. The RV Park was a City Run Campground.
Certainly not a destination campground, very powdery dust, kids driving too fast and cacti on the edges that KayCee didn't get along with. Only o.k. for a short stop. One of the good things that happened yesterday morning.
I saw all these people coming over toward me with cameras, and I thought they were coming to take pictures of KayCee! There were 20 Elk feeding on the hill above us. Glad I got some pics, as they weren't there this morning. We were going to stop at Dickenson N.D. and decided that we would forgo the bigger town, and the park that caters to the Oil and Pipeline workers. We did pull in and stock up at our favorite "Stocking Up" store, Wal Mart, and then drove north on Hwy 22 and then east on 200, part of the Sakakawea Scenic byway. Our move today was 123 miles to the northeast.
Here at the Lewis and Clark RV Park there's 28 spaces and a brand new meeting room, laundry, bath and clubhouse. This is a Passport America Park, and pleasantly affordable.
I feel as if I can relax a little. Lots of water activities at a reservoir 15 miles north of here. Lake Sakakawea, with 1884 miles of Shoreline, and lots of things at surrounding towns to keep us busy too. DH is going to get some fishing and golfing in. Who knows, I may dabble around and try to catch a fish or two. I've been known to outfish the master more times than not! Walleye is my favorite and this is supposed to be the best Walleye lake in N.D. The reminder's that Sturgis Bike Rally is not very far and coming up very soon are all around us! It's a beautiful evening, the breeze has died down and the sun is setting low in the west. DH and KayCee are out for a walk and a few tosses of the tennis ball to use up some of her pent up energy. I have no pent up energy, I will retire to the bed in short order!

Change of Scenery

We spent our last full day in Montana yesterday in Miles City. We toured the Range Riders Museum, a place that gives an in-depth look at the history, artifacts and people that made Miles City the place it is today.The Range Riders Organization was founded in 1939 by a group of stockmen who wanted the area's history preserved. They have done an excellent job! Great museum.
DH enjoyed the extensive gun and ammo collection, all of the early pioneer's tools, stories about the early formation of the area, and interaction with the Native American people there.
Monday morning we continued east, amid the intermittent showers, crossing into North Dakota before noon. We have been on Virgin Roads since Billings, having never traveled this way on I 94 before. The scenery changes drastically,
The skies are not so blue, the water's not crystal clear and Turquoise. Theres plenty of rocky cliffs, beautiful golden Canola and fresh cut hay and wheat fields. We stopped in Medora, having heard excellent things about this area, situated amongst the Beautiful Bad Lands and Theodore Roosevelt's National Park

After a little poking around tomorrow, we will be pressing on over to Dickenson N.D. and settling down for a week. We've been on the road for 4 days in a row and I'm getting a little weary. I've decided it's almost a full time job to travel and sightsee in the same day! Oh good, I'm ready to turn in and I hear the train whistles in the not very far distance. I used to sleep through them, but not being used to it any more, they kinda keep me awake now. Hopefully they won't wake me up all night.