Pelican Rapids, Minnesota

Today we drove to Pelican Rapids, MN (at a friend's suggestion) to see "Pelican Pete", the World's Largest Pelican.  Are you noticing a pattern here?  :-)  It was a gloomy day and it rained off & on all day.  Just as we reached the dam to take pictures of Pelican Pete, it started pouring and we got soaked.  :-(  We had lunch at a nice little pizza place in town and waited for the rain to stop again.

Pelican Rapids

Pelican Pete, the World's Largest Pelican

Another view of Pete

 Pelican Pete at the base of the Mill Pond Dam on the Pelican River.

One of several pelican statues in front of businesses on Main St.

 Another cutie!

What the hell???

Interesting local history...



Detroit Lakes, Minnesota

We arrived at Forest Hills RV & Golf Resort in Detroit Lakes, MN yesterday afternoon for a 4-night stay.  It feels good to be in one spot for a few days and in our opinion, this park is about as good as it gets.  Our pull-through site could easily fit another RV & tow vehicle on it.  There is a beautiful lake visible from our large back window and the golf course looks really nice.  It is also an AOR park, so we are only paying $9.00/night to stay here. 

 A view of the park from our campsite.

Our campsite with the lake behind us.

Another shot of our campsite.  The golf course is beyond the front of our rig.

Jamestown, North Dakota

We've spent that last 2 days in Jamestown, ND and our RV park is adjacent to the National Buffalo Museum and Frontier Village.  Jamestown is all about the buffalo.  Everything in town seems to have Bison or Buffalo in the name.  The herd of buffalo at the National Buffalo Museum includes 3 albino buffalo, but they were not visible when we were there.  They let the herd roam the entire field and we couldn't see any of the albinos, even with binoculars. 

An Alaskan Brown Bear at the National Buffalo Museum

 A buffalo calf...at least they are cute when they are young.

If this doesn't explain it, I don't know what would!

Goats at Frontier Village

Dakota Thunder, the World's Largest Buffalo Monument. 

Bob is standing under it.  It's 26' high, 14' wide,

46' long and weighs 60 tons.

Bob walking under Dakota Thunder.

Louis L'Amour's writer's shack at Frontier Village.

Jamestown is this famous western writer's hometown.

Part of the buffalo herd from the National Buffalo Museum.

This picture was taken from our campsite.

Two buffalo that belong to the RV park's herd. 

This picture was also taken from our campsite.

Billings, Montana to Jamestown, North Dakota

On Friday morning (05/04/12) we left Billings, MT for a 2-day stay in Glendive, MT.  We always make our reservations weeks in advance, but when we arrived at the RV park in Glendive, we were told that we did not have a reservation.  All they had available was water & electric, no sewer and the old bitty in the office said the water wasn't great and the electric had issues.  We decided to keep moving on down the road.  We stopped at a rest area and called ahead to our next stop and asked if we could change our reservation two days ahead.  They were fine with that and then we changed our subsequent stop from a 2-day to a 4-day reservation at Detroit Lakes, MN.  We drove on to Jamestown, North Dakota (525 miles) and we have spent 2 days here.  Tomorrow morning (Sunday) we will leave for Detroit Lakes, MN. 

Woodstock or Bust???  Looks like a bust to me!

 Painted Canyon, North Dakota

Painted Canyon, ND

 Painted Canyon

Painted Canyon

She's a butte, Clark!  :-)

"Salem Sue" the World's Largest Holstein Cow in

New Salem, North Dakota. 

She's 38' high and 50' long.



Pompey's Pillar

After going to Little Bighorn, we drove to see Pompey's Pillar.  After traveling several miles (including some on a dirt road) we arrived to find out it was closed.  Their website indicated that they were open from April 30th - October 15th, but the sign at the entrance stated they open on May 5th.    We were so disappointed!  Basically, Pompey's Pillar is a sandstone butte that William Clark (of Lewis & Clark fame) visited in 1806 and carved his name & the date into the sandstone.  I can't help but wonder if this is where cousin Eddie came up with the line, "She's a butte, Clark".  :-)

The entrance to Pompey's Pillar

 A sign explaining the story of Pompey's Pillar.

The butte which is "Pompey's Pillar".

Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument

Today we went to the Little Bighorn Battlefield...

the site of Custer's Last Stand.

The NPS Ranger that conducted the presentation to us was excellent. 

He said he taught in public schools for 30 years and I couldn't help but think of what a great

teacher he must have been.  He literally brought the battle to life with his presentation.

The marker where a 7th Calvary Soldier fell.

The marker of a Lakota Warrior who fell.

Horses grazing in one area of the battlefield.

The rolling hills in another area.

The National Cemetery near the entrance.

A marker on the mass grave of the 7th Calvary horses that were killed.

A wire sculpture of the battle.

Big Sky Country - Dillon, Montana

We arrived in Dillon, MT yesterday and will be leaving tomorrow morning for Billings, MT.  Today we drove out to Bannack State Park, which has an old ghost town.  Unfortunately, the ghost town doesn't open until May 15th.  Bannack was Montana's first territorial capital and there is a lot of history there.  It was a beautiful drive there, so all was not lost.  Montana is another beautiful state and I totally understand the Big Sky motto now. 

Driving into Montana from Idaho.

Another gorgeous Montana mountain.

Clark Canyon Reservoir, MT

Our campsite at Countryside RV Park in Dillon

Another shot of our campsite.  Not a bad view!

 A view on the drive to Bannack State Park

 I think these vehicles have been there quite a while!

 Going down a steep grade.

Deer near our campground.  Pronghorns?

 Downtown Dillon

Bad A$$ Coffee Co. in Dillon