Tourist Attractions Bring Lewis & Clark’s History to Life
Lewis and Clark made a historic contribution in so many ways to the growth and understanding of our country. You can see some of these historic sites and observe and learn how the discoverers lived, explored and found help in a little Indian girl at the Fort Mandan historic site.
The fort was created for a winter home for the party of explorers as they started on their great journey to explore the westward lands recently purchased by President Jefferson. They stayed here for five months and were granted a great gift in the form of a Shoshone Indian named Sacajawea.
They continued along their way after their brief stay and moved to the west and other areas of the country. While at Fort Mandan they made iron objects with a forge that their blacksmith set up and traded with the local Hidatsa Indians for food to continue on their journey.
The Fort along with the nearby Indian villages are now a part of the state historic sites and a great place to visit and learn about the history of our country. There are three great places to visit close to Washburn North Dakota, the Knife River Indian Village, Fort Mandan and the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center.
Fort Mandan and the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center are west of the city of Washburn and the Knife River Indian Village National Historic Site is north of Stanton, North Dakota. Washburn is forty miles north of Bismarck, North Dakota with Stanton another fifteen miles west of Washburn.
The Knife River Indian Village has a reconstructed earth lodge of the original Indians that lived in the area. The earth lodge is a neat site and very informative. They used the tools at hand and the natural gifts of the area to create permanent homes that could withstand the brutal winters of North Dakota.
There is a visitor center where you can learn about the Indians and their lives. They have a lot of information and artifacts for you to view. The village can be seen along the path that overlooks the river and in the nearby field. You can see the depressions in the ground where the village and each lodge was.
You can get more information about the Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site here:
http://www.nps.gov/knri/
Fort Mandan is where Lewis and Clark and their company stayed for five months in the winter of 1804, 1805. Here they met the French Canadian Toussaint Charbonneau and met his wife Sacajawea. With her help they would continue on their journey, using her as a guide, interpreter and to show the group of explorers as just that instead of a war party. The Indians could not see a woman traveling with a war party so would assume the group was friendly.
The Fort Mandan Historic site is a recreation of the original fort and has equipment replicas of many of the things that the explorers used and carried on their voyage. There are interpreters on site to ask and answer questions and tours of the site available.
The fort is a great educational opportunity to see how the company of explorers stayed during their winter stops and lived in the rugged outdoors. You can visit the Headwaters Fort Mandan Visitors Center and find out more about the Fort and Lewis and Clark expedition.
The fort is a recreation but an amazing testament to the men who started out I boats to cross the country and find a better way to get to the ocean on the other side of the Rocky Mountains. They would continue their nearly two and a half year journey from here, with just over a half of the first year completed.
You can see more about the Fort Mandan Historic Site here:
http://www.fortmandan.com/planningyourvisit/fortmandan.asp
The Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center is another great educational opportunity near the city of Washburn, North Dakota. The interpretive center has a great overview of the expedition and emphasizes the visit in the Mandan area.
The center has a great watercolor gallery and written descriptions of the Indians of the area. These displays are the works of Karl Bodmer’s watercolors and the Maximillian written descriptions of the Upper Midwest Indian Cultures.
The latest addition to the Interpretive Center is the Fort Clark Exhibit. It has a great history of steamboats and frontier trade along with more American Indian Heritage and culture. The Interpretive center is rather large and takes awhile to go through, there is a lot to look at and see.
To find out more about the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center go here: http://lewisandclarktrail.com/section2/ndcities/BismarckMandan/InterpretiveCenter/
The Washburn area has a few places to stay for an overnight visit, you can go here for a couple that are in or very near the town of Washburn:http://www.discoverourtown.com/TownPage.php?Town=2756&Cat=Lodging
In the area of Washburn is Lake Sacajawea’s Garrison Dam and the Audubon National Wildlife refuge. The Garrison Dam is about 25 miles from Washburn and is a great place to visit or stay overnight, there are a few campgrounds near the dam and surrounding area.
The Audubon National Wildlife Refuge is a great place to visit, hike and enjoy nature. There is an eight mile auto tour and a one mile walking trail that is handicapped accessible. You can go here for more information on the wildlife refuge:
http://audubon.fws.gov/
With these great attractions all in about a thirty mile area you can easily spend a fun filled weekend, or even a longer trip for the whole family. Not only are many of the attractions educational and informative, there is plenty of modern sites to visit in the towns.
Bismarck, the state capitol of North Dakota, is only forty miles from Washburn and has all the conveniences of a modern city. Just kidding, North Dakota Tourism Board, the state capitol is a great place to visit and see how the workings of a state government are accomplished. You can tour the capitol and, if in session, can watch the state congress.
There is a lot to visit and see in Bismarck and you can always find a place to stay using your favorite hotel search.
The Washburn area of North Dakota is a great vacation spot or even for a quick day getaway. You can go to one or two spots a day and then save the rest for the next quick getaway. There really is a lot to see and learn just like Lewis and Clark did.
