Everyone has a hobby and Karen and I have a few. We like to go on themed vacations. In past years we toured Laura Ingalls Wilder homes, Walt Disney locations in Missouri, and the Mississippi River from the headwaters in Minnesota to its outlet into the Gulf of Mexico
We've explored many sites that Lewis and Clark traveled through and our reason for heading to North Dakota (Summer ISN'T over yet!) was to visit a few more of them north of Bismarck.
In this tiny little city of Washburn, ND there is this awesome building housing the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center. I first visited this museum 10 years ago on a trip to my company's field offices in Bismarck and New Town, ND. It has grown since then and the exhibits have changed and it's even better now. The building has even grown!
The exhibits were unique in that they would light up as the audio explained them.
In one area as you moved the library ladder the exhibit area would light up.
There was a map area with dots and when you clicked on the dot there was narration from one of the journals of that area of the expedition.
They even let you model some of the exhibit items.
A few years ago they put a huge addition onto the building. Unemployment in North Dakota has been less than 3% since Jan 2012. Times are good here.
After a lunch at the Dakota Farms Family Restaurant ("help wanted" signs were in the window) we drove a few miles down from the museum to Fort Mandan, a re-creation of the fort that the L&C Expedition built and used during the winter of 1804-05 on the Missouri River.
Our guide was the best. He really loved what he was doing, knew the history of L&C, and let us behind the ropes to touch stuff!
The fort was built just as the river started to ice over. It had only 3 sides due to time constraints in building it. The child that Sakakawea took with her on the voyage was born in the fort. The fort burned to the ground shortly after the Corps headed west in April. Due to the changing course of the Missouri River the site of the fort is believed to be under water.
This "gun" called a blunderbuss was a real attention-getter when confronting the Indians.
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