Day Four - Bismark ND to Theodore National Park

Started out the day with some starbucks. A first for this trip. Until now due to the tough economic conditions we have been drinking the free coffee at the hotels in the morning. This particular Fairfield had no tops for the coffee cups. Didn't want to risk spilling anything in the BRM.

Decided to make a quick stop at the Abraham Lincoln State park in Bismarck before heading to Theodore Roosevelt National park in Medora ND. Abraham Lincoln State park sits on the site of the former Abraham Lincoln cavalry and infantry forts. Right on the Missouri river. It was active from 1870 something to 1890 something to protect the railroad workers. Very interesting tour. First we toured a small indian village right next to the fort then we toured General Custers house. Each tour was about an hour so it took longer than we thought. Took some nice pictures overlooking the river.

Then back on the road down I94 to Medora. Where Teddy Roosevelt National Park is. Road conditions deteriorate and there is alot of construction. Stopped in Dickenson for a quick lunch at Burger King. Lots of rolling hills the whole way. Then a few miles before the 1st exit for the Park and wow the scenery changes. The badlands start. Lots of colorful rocks.

Stopped in Medora just outside the park. A tiny town that looks deserted since it is the off season. Found a hotel called the Badlands hotel. Checked in then went for a really nice scenic drive in the park. A 36 mile loop. We saw 2 buffalo. A zillion prairie dogs and some wild horses. No Bigfoot though. So I am disappointed. Of course all the animal pictures are on the new camera which I still cant upload to the blog. It is just about dark as we finish the drive. Good thing we changed the headlamp in the BRM.

Head back to the hotel for a quick stop then over to the Iron Horse Restaurant and pub. The restaurant part is kind of dumpy but the bar looked interesting. Lots of junk on the walls and ceiling. I ordered a Buffalo steak but I think I was piped again. It sure looked and tasted like a regular steak. At least it didn't taste like the buffalo I had at Teds Restaurant in Hoover Alabama. Though I am not an expert so I am not about to question the chef.

Tomorrow we hope to head back to the park and see what else there is to see then head down toward Mount Rushmore.


Here is a picture of Jack doing battle with the Waffle Machine in the hotel. The morning didn't start out well as it kept mashing up our waffles.



Jack at the Abraham Lincoln Infantry Fort on the bank of the Missouri River.



Dave and Jack at the entrance to Theodore Roosevelt National Park.


Jack goofing around in the gift shop.



The 1960's Paneling in our 5 star hotel room.




The BRM parked along the side of the road as I try to get pictures of a Bison.

3rd Day - Fargo ND - Jamestown ND - Bismarck ND

Our first full day in North Dakota. The weather this morning wasn't very good. Cloudy, cool and windy. Toured around Fargo in the morning. Seems like a nice little town. Fueled up and then headed down I94 to Jamestown. Road conditions much better. Made of concrete to withstand the harsh winters I presume so the roads hold up better.



In Jamestown we stopped at the National Buffalo Museum. A total tourist trap but kind of a neat museum. All about the buffalo and history of ND. Buffalo is actually an incorrect term they are called American Bison. At the museum is a small herd of Bison we took pictures of. One of them is a white Bison which is really rare and there have only been like 3 of them in recent history. Also at the museum is the worlds largest Bison statue. A big metal thing. Built in 1959. I will attach a picture. There were also a collection of old buildings from the ND frontier we were able to tour.





After Jamestown it was back on I 94 to Bismarck. In Jamestown we had some equipment failure on the Big Red machine(BRM). The left headlight is inoperable. Jacks preventative maintenance routine on the BRM is not up to snuff I guess. (Though the PM on my Honda is non existent) . So we decide not to drive the remote expanses of North Dakota at night with only one headlight and will stop for the night in Bismarck.



Check in to the Fairfield in start repairs on the BRM. Of course its not simple to change the headlight on a BRM. Had to do some dissassembly to get to it. Being the genius I am I was able make the necessary repairs. I do notice the air filter is really dirty. After repairs completed we went for a small drive through town seeing the ND Statehouse and downtown area and vicinity. Stop at Walmart to pick up a few things including a new air filter. Applebees for dinner then back to the hotel.





Here are some pictures...








The big Red Machine in Downtown Fargo. Neat little town.








Filling up the BRM at the local Loaf and Jug. What kind of a name is that? Upon further investigation it appears to be a part of the Kroger Corporation. I'll have to see if they have franchise opportunities. Cleveland could use one.

A whole lot of nothing between Fargo and Jamestown...








And here it is...the long awaited Worlds largest Buffalo. From a distance.












And here it is up close. Quite large. I would like to have one.






I took some pictures of the live buffalo but they were with my new camera and I am getting errors on my laptop trying to open them. Something about not enough memory. It is the crappy microsoft photo editor. Piped by Microsoft. So I need to investigate.

2nd Day - Chicago - Minneapolis - Fargo ND

Woke up Saturday and starting driving to Fargo. I90 to I94 the whole way. Chicago is a painful place to drive. Gratuitous use of tolls. So it is very expensive. Not Dave friendly. Jack has said it costs an arm and a leg in tolls so he has no arms or legs left. In Schaumburg we drove past the Motorola world head quarters. I took a picture for Steve. Stopped at the welcome center for Wisconsin for a break then on to the Mall of America. Road quality in Wisconsin was poor. Jacked notice some pavement in Wisconsin that had settled because it had not been compacted correctly or something like that.We did stop once for fuel at BP. The big red machine is a gas guzzler. Rather cheap petrol though. Only $3.42. Who would have thought that was cheap. The Mall of America is amazing. Its huge. 3 levels of shopping that surround a big amusement park in the middle. We ate at a barbecue place called Famous Daves. Quite excellent. We stopped at one of the nicest Best Buys I have ever seen then walked around the mall a bit and picked up a few trinkets and left. Next we drove in to downtown Minneapolis to see the new bridge that was built to replace the one that fell. Jack wanted to inspect the construction quality to see if it meets his standards. It appears to be a really nice new bridge. We ended up driving over it twice because we got a little lost trying to get back to I94 to continue on to Fargo. Drive to Fargo was uneventful. Kind of long. We finally crossed the border about 9:45pm in to North Dakota. So Jack has now visited all 50 states. We stayed at a Holiday Inn Express in Fargo.

Here are some pictures


Motorola Building in Schamburg IL




Outside Mall of America




The amusement part inside Mall of America




Jacks first picture in North Dakota

First Day - Cleveland - Chicago

Started out on our trip to North and South Dakota yesterday. We got a late start because I didn't get out of work as early as I hoped. Nothing eventful in the drive. I 90 the whole way. Stopped at the last service area on the Ohio turnpike for dinner. It is rather dumpy it must be the only one that hasn't been upgraded. We did drive right by the Sears tower in Chicago which is kind of neat to see. Made it to Schaumburg IL for the night. It is a North west suburb of Chicago.