Signal Hill Musings, July 2017 ed., by Tom Shafer and Richard Seifried
These are the continuing exploits of two L&Cers (Lewis and Clarkers) from their near-historic 2009 trip from St. Louis to one of our finest oceans, the Pacific. Richard and son-in-law Tom have made their way to central Nebraska. Spoiler alert: there are no knives in Knife River. Sad!
Friday, June 19, 2009, 12:45 a.m.
Subject: Knife River
Yesterday, we were scheduled to stop at Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site (maybe the longest name in the Park Service repertoire!) late in the afternoon. However, our visit was interrupted by an impressive thunderstorm – nice wall cloud, some rotation, unfortunately no funnel cloud. With no executives in the vehicle, we made the blue collar decision to head to Beulah for the evening, then return in the morning (a short 20 mile return). And, we are happy we did. Knife River is an ancient Hidatsa (northern Plains natives) village site – perhaps dating back 11,000 years. Living in earth lodges on and near the banks of the Missouri and Knife rivers, the Hidatsa were mostly peaceable people (nice tongue twister!) who were later joined by Mandan and Arikara tribes. Lewis and Clark made a courtesy call in late October of 1804, and from the Hidatsa, L&C gained important knowledge of the Upper Missouri to the Bitterroot Mountains. Today, dozens of depressions in the ground designate the dwelling sites of the many tribes who resided here. Additionally, the NPS has constructed a replica earth lodge, which somewhat remarkably, were still being used well into the twentieth century.
Hidatsa earth lodge at Knife River National Historic Site
Residential depressions (perhaps a nice tri-level) above the Knife River
A brief stop at Little Missouri State Park proved somewhat fruitless — besides the fact that it provided no fruit, turns out that this park is truly a hiker/horseman paradise. Lots of trails for both, few roads – really none – for us. An overlook offered a glimpse of the beauty contained within: colored hillsides like those in the Badlands, a deep azure lake, and lots of red pine.
Buffalo (you can tell from the horns!), Teddy Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota
The Missouri River as it meanders through Teddy Roosevelt NP
Since this was merely a drive-by anyway, we lunched our disappointment (ham and cheese sandwiches, apples for dessert) and made our way to our last stop of the day, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Unit. Appropriately, we were greeted at the entrance by a pair of lazy bison – or buffalo for more gentile folk. This rugged landscape looks much as it did when a young, bespeckled Teddy Roosevelt shot his first bison here in the early 1880s. Fortunately for all of us, he recognized the importance of places like this and while serving as President signed the Antiquities Act to protect historic landmarks and structures like Devils Tower and cliff dwellings of the Southwest. We enjoyed just gawking at the beautiful scenery of TRNP as we drove through the unit, pulling off frequently to snap a picture or two. Lots of bison populate the park, but we never tired of seeing them, appreciating the fact that disease (from our domesticated cattle) and overhunting nearly rendered them extinct in the nineteenth century. In spite of ourselves, we sometimes do manage to right our wrongs (woops, sorry passenger pigeon!).
Such is the contradictory nature of the human species. Well, we are bedding down here at the fancy Marquis Plaza (okay, only the name is fancy) in Williston, ND. Must now get my ugly rest; long drive tomorrow with stops at Ft. Union in the morning, Loma Point in late afternoon. I can smell Montana from here – smells like cattle. Or maybe it’s Richard – or me – or both!
Saturday, June 20, 2009, 11:03 p.m.
Hello! We have just returned from a very nice father’s-in-law day dinner here in Great Falls. Richard may have had one too many martinis (two), so he came home and went straight to sleep. I think the altitude had something to do with it — that and the martinis. Anyway, we did have a very nice day, albeit a long one. We started at Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site (another long Park Service name!) and ran into a community party — complete with a 5K run that started as we were getting there. I thought about entering, but carrying Richard would have held me back. Ft. Union is not a true Lewis and Clark site, though the boys pushed by here and may have engaged the Arikara tribe on this spot near the confluence of the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers. Built by John Jacob Astor in the late 1820s, this was a designated trading post for the Northern Plains tribes – Cree, Blackfeet, Mandan, Hidatsa, among others. Trade here continued until the end of the Civil War when the business was purchased by the federal government, dismantled, and utilized in the building of a new fortification further west. Now, a replica (derived from drawings done in the 1850s) stands on the original site and is completed with staff and reenactors in period dress doing period things like smithing, curing, farming, and gambling!
A replica of Ft. Union Trading Post near Williston, North Dakota
Replica “billboard” atop Ft. Union TP, commemorating L&C meeting the Arikara
At the end of our drive, we visited Loma (or Decision) Point; this is where Lewis and Clark were unsure about the course of the Missouri. Two rivers converged here (the Marias is the other) and it took them some exploring over the course of several days to figure it out. Here, we had to make a pretty good climb to stand on a point where Lewis himself stood. What a beautiful view of the valley and the two rivers! Plus, we saw a couple of lovely green snakes (we identified them as smooth green snakes, not to be confused with rough green snakes – and both are real snakes!).
Smoooooth green snake — oh so pretty! Bear Grylls would call him (or her) “dinner.”
Loma Point, where the Missouri and Marias rivers converge – another place where L&C stood
Tomorrow we take a boat ride at the gateway to the Rocky Mountains and spend the night near some old stomping grounds of Richard’s. Well, I need to run out to the car to bring in a few more items, so I will sign off for tonight. Hope all is well in Ohio.
Sunday, June 21, 2009, 11:51 p.m.
Subject: L&Cers take to open water!
Hey all! We have spent much time wondering what it must have been like to be a member of the Corps of Discovery – especially today when we saw the actual Great Falls themselves. The cliffs they had to portage are 500 to 800 feet tall and quite steep in most places. At the best interpretive museum we have seen to date (the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center), we saw a brief film about the portage — complete with reenactors. These boys had to be incredibly tough; canoes, equipment, and supplies had to be moved manually around five total waterfalls and these incredibly steep cliffs. What had been an expected week-long move took a month.
The Great Falls near — hydroelectric dam perhaps built by L&C (alternative fact?)
We DID take the boat trip today through the Gates of the Rocky Mountains, and it was so cool! Words can’t adequately describe the beauty — the steepness of the 800 foot cliffs, the splendor of the white limestone, the deep blue sky and water — arches, other cool rock features, osprey, pictographs, 65° temperature — and all for ten bucks!! Of course, Lewis and Clark paid no fee for their ride here. The soaring cliffs and quick water must have initially been foreboding. While Lewis first explored the canyon area by boat, Clark took a small party to search overland for the Shoshone tribe they were hoping to meet up with. Lewis led his faction of the party on the Missouri through the Gates of the Mountains (so aptly named by him) and ultimately hooked up with Clark further upriver.
Entrance to the Gates of the Mountains from Holter Lake
(created by Holter Dam on the Missouri River)
Tomorrow we head for Big Hole National Battlefield, an important Nez Perce site that I am looking forward to. We are hoping that they have a summer solstice program, but I didn’t see one listed at their website. We had thought about visiting Jane’s birthplace (Salmon, Idaho) but heavy rain on the Idaho side of Lemhi Pass have made the mud road all but impassible. ‘Tis okay because we need to make an early day of it so we can get some laundry done. Well, I need to go to the car to get heavier clothes for your brother. The temperature here right now is 41°, heading for a low of 23°. High temperature tomorrow at Big Hole?? 44°. Doesn’t feel like June. I’ve got to find my socks!
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