Monday, May 23, 2022

Dickinson, North Dakota

 


Spending the night at Phat Fish Brewery - part of the Harvest Host network. 
While waiting for the brewery to open, we found the Ukrainian Cultural Institute a few blocks away. Amazing art and cultural material, and the curator was delightful to speak with. 
After that, we walked around the Dickinson State University campus and found a statue of Teddy Roosevelt at the courthouse. He gave his first speech there at age 27, during a 4th of July parade. It may be the only statue of a president that includes a six-shooter! 
Beer and pizza for dinner - perfect ending to a perfect day.



Downtime in North Dakota

 


After traveling 1600 miles in 5 days, we spent a relaxing long weekend in Jamestown, North Dakota visiting Charles’ cousin and family. It’s been seven years so we had a lot to catch up on. 


During our free time we played tourists. Jamestown is a small farming community 1.5 hours west of Fargo, and is best known for two things - a giant buffalo statue and being the birthplace of author, Louis L’Amour. 


We skipped the buffalo museum which reported to have a stuffed ‘white buffalo’ on exhibit, and went on an expedition to learn about the man who wrote over 100 novels and short story collections. 


The local library had a kiosk devoted to Louis L’Amour’s books and life but we quickly discovered there was more information on wikipedia. 


There were no life size cutouts for cheezy photo-ops. No film clips of John Wayne playing the lead character in one of L’Amour’s most popular works, Hondo. No rare original books behind locked glass. What a missed opportunity.


At the library we also learned Jamestown is the birthplace of singer Peggy Lee. We left the library a bit deflated as the words from a Peggy Lee song played in my head. 

“Is that all there is? If that’s all there is my dear, let’s keep driving…” 

Next stop - Teddy Roosevelt

National Park! 




Saturday, May 14, 2022

On the Road 2022!




Our first trip took us 450 miles North to a campground just south of Nashville, TN (https://stoneycreektravelpark.com/).

We mare it to the campground about 3:45 and the cats (Marby and Tucker) and the fish (Vivaldi) are doing great. 

Tomorrow is another long drive to Illinois where we’ll stay for 2 nights.