From Aberdeen we headed west along US-12, an early transcontinental highway known as the Yellowstone Highway the idea of which originated here in the SD town of Ipswich.
After a stop for a geocache and museum visit in Mobridge we crossed the Missouri
and followed signs pointing us south on Highway 1806 to the Sitting Bull burial site.
The next point of interest along the Standing Rock National Native American Scenic Byway was the reconstruction of Fort Manuel Lisa. There is a road that leads to a view of the fort although it’s not actively inviting visitors.. We wanted to get a bit closer and drove across a bit of prairie! This is a replica of the place where Toussaint Charbonneau and his wife Sakakawea (or Sacajawea) were living when she gave birth to her daughter Lisette and where she died of complications of childbirth.
After a stop in Fort Yates to view the Standing Rock Memorial, sacred to the Lakota and Dakota peoples, we ended the day at the Fort Rice campground as the sole campers. At sunset we were joined briefly by two photographers as we wandered among the “ruins” of the 1864-1878 fort. The brick corners of the fort buildings were built by the WPA in the 1930’s. This area is amazingly rich in Native American history.
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