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Amy's Journal
At 7:50 a.m. we
departed the Best Western Kelly Inn in Yankton on a very overcast day.
As we approached our 9:30 rest stop at the Fort Randall Casino a light
rain was briefly felt. We re-boarded our keelbus and crossed the
Missouri River on the Fort Randall Dam, which produces electricity. We
drove around the historic Fort Randall Chapel. As we crossed back over
the dam we headed north on route 50 proceeding on our way to
Chamberlain. (I noted a weather coincidence in our Guidebook to the L&C
Trail. On page 50 it reports: “Sept 11, 1804 – It was raining hard as
the expedition’s boats made halting progress as they approached today’s
Snake Creek Recreation Area west of Platte, SD. Which spot we were
approaching on Sept. 11, 2009)
By 11:30 we reached
our first Chamberlain destination, an award winning L&C exhibit in a
highway rest area affording breathtaking views of the sprawling Missouri
River. Our weather thankfully cleared and the sun shone. Historian Tom
brought out the flag for a group picture with the Missouri River in the
background. We then proceeded on to nearby St. Joseph Indian School and
Akta-Lakota Museum. Dixie Thompson gave a brief orientation of the
residential school which is serving Indian children from poverty
stricken communities. 30% are from Crow Creek Reservation and 30% from
Shannon County-Pine Ridge Reservation. Classes are 12 students max,
grades 1-6. With a teacher and an aide they work on reading and math to
reach each child’s grade level. The school is funded with private
donations. We were given a guided tour of the Akta-Lakota Museum and
many of us made purchases.
At 1:45 we proceeded
to Pierre, SD observing the very scenic and unusual omega shaped Big
Bend the Missouri River makes at the Crow Creek and Lower Brule Indian
Reservations. Capt. Clark noted the distance across the neck was only
2000 yards while the water journey was about 30 miles. He detached some
men to hunt on land while the boats made their way around the bend. Our
weather stayed sunny with fluffy white clouds, so we enjoyed this
interesting river bend’s scenery. Renee spotted the first buffalo and we
were excited to see these amazing animals.
At the
Akta-Lakota Museum I picked up a Visual Chart of the uses made of the
Buffalo. The stomach was used to carry and store water, every part of
the meat was eaten and many ornaments and functional items were made of
body parts and hair.
Approaching Pierre,
at present day Fort Pierre the expedition had its first meeting with the
powerful Teton Sioux. A tense confrontation ensued, but violence was
avoided by the diplomacy of Chief Black Buffalo. We stopped to view the
historic markers at this site and Tom brought our flag and captured this
experience with a group photo. Our next stop was the South Dakota
Cultural Heritage Center, an eye-catching building designed and built
right into the ground. It is equal in size to two football fields. Our
guide was very informative and fun and the exhibits helped us learn much
SD history.
Our long and
interesting day began to wind down as we drove a short distance to the
Kings Inn Motel. After unpacking we met at 7 pm for dinner. Most ordered
Buffalo Stew, others ordered chicken. After dinner Grace made a sad
announcement. We learned that our heretofore faithful keelbus had a
fatal brake problem. And also our excellent driver, Marv, must remain
with the bus while it is repaired. Hopefully he will be able to meet us
in Helena. A new bus will come from Gillette, WY, with Gary Ferguson
driving and we will move on to Mandan tomorrow as planned.
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