Cookn Travels: Headed North, North West...

Voyageurs NP and a Visits on the Lewis and Clark Trail

We have been picking up new states along the way, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and we also added North Dakota to finish off the Upper Midwest. North Dakota makes the number of states visited: 43 for Doug, 42 for Nicole and Dunovan, and 41 for Brodey.

Voyageurs National Park, est April 8, 1975

We left the Great Lakes region and head west through Minnesota to the border of Canada and Voyageurs National Park. This park is actually a series of islands and lakes in the most northern part of Minnesota. We stayed at the Pines of Kabetogama Resort, which is 1 mile from the Voyageurs NP Visitor Center, right on Lake Kabetogama, known as "land of sky blue water." This visit was a couple of days to relax and just enjoy the park from the resort. If you like to boat or fish, this park is the place for you!

Most of Voyageurs NP, including campsites within the park, are only accessible by boat. There are 218,000 acres of land and water to explore in this breathtaking, wilderness park.

To learn more about Voyagers by visiting the NPS website. Voyagers National Park

Hello North Dakota!!

Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site, est. Oct. 26, 1974

We left the land of many lakes to make our way to the plains region of North Dakota. Our first stop was the Knife River Indian Villages NHS, located on the Upper Missouri River. Once home to the Northern Plains Indians, this site is full of earthen lodges and takes visitors through the lives of the Mandan and Hidatsa Indians.

Visitor Center

Earthen Lodges were made and maintained by the women, took 7-8 months to make and lasted around 10 years. 10-20 would live inside, all of the same family on the woman's side.

Inside the Lodge

Our walk through the plains to where the groups of lodges were located.

The mounds are where the lodges were located.

The Knife River

More of the mounds

Artifacts from the Museum

Learn more about this area, rich in culture, at the NPS website. Knife River Indian Villages NH

Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site, est. Oct. 15, 1966

Never a military fort, For Union Trading Post was the longest lasting trading post in the United States. It was open for 39 years, from 1828 to 1867, where as many as 13 different tribes would come with their furs and buffalo hides to trade with the white man for goods from around the world.

We drove the 3 hrs NW from Knife River to Fort Union, where we were able to visit the partially recreated Fort, listen to NP Ranger talks, and Brodey's favorite was watching and listening to the blacksmith that was there. We also got to see our first prairie dog of the trip.