 May 12 - Bismarck, ND to Medora,
ND
We received a "program information" guide in the mail a
few weeks prior to departure. A review of this information indicated we
should bring a "warm jacket" along with layers of warm clothes. I asked
myself: "What were they thinking of, asking us to lug useless bulky jackets
in this warm, if not hot, weather?" The first few days of our program were
in the 80s and even 90s. Well, now I know. Yesterday, May 11, the air was
so cold that I wore my "warm jacket" over a heavy sweater to be warm. We
had a boat cruise on the Missouri River and no one chose to sit on the
open upper deck. This morning we had snow to contend with. It got to the
point that we had to make an unscheduled stop at K-Mart so that some of
the program attendees (as well as our instructor) could buy some warm
clothes.
This all boils down to: "When in doubt, do what you are told." The
program coordinators know a little more about what to expect than you. In
other words, when you are told to jump, the only legitimate question is:
"How High?" John Zach |
 You're
right, John. I should have listened. If you remember, you asked me at the
beginning if I guaranteed perfectly good weather. I said I would guarantee
appropriate weather. Since Lewis and Clark experienced such a gamut
of weather I knew whatever we encountered would help us get deeper into
the feelings and emotions of our fearless explorers. This was such a day.
I have been to Fort Mandan about 8 times, always in the summer. Today was
the first time I got a real appreciation of the winter of 1804 -1805. A
wonderful interpretive day.
Tom Laidlaw, Onboard Instructor |
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Washburrn ND Interpretive Center
and their dugout canoe, similar to the six made by Lewis and Clark.  |
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Karl Bodmer print
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This was Judy Pattee's birthday
so she was flag-bearer. |
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Our flag flying above Fort
Mandan
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Group listening to excellent
Interpreter |
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Knife River Indian Villages. these were the villages of Indians who worked
with the Corps of Discovery thru the winter of 1804-05. it is Knife River
because the Indians found flint here to make knives. |
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