The Adventures of Reba

Here are some more photos and anecdotes from our week spent doing genealogy research in northeast North Dakota.

The volunteer at the Pembina County Historical Museum was incredibly helpful to us in our search of their records, she helped us find a lot of information very quickly and gave us some tips on where to look next.

At the Cavalier County Museum we wound up rescuing a bird that was trapped in a train car they have as part of their exhibit. It was quite the experience! I had heard the bird in the train and figured it would find its way out eventually, but an hour later it was still there and obviously in distress (fast breathing and flying repeatedly into the windows, which were bolted shut). Beau was able to catch it and direct it toward the train door, and it flew off! Catching it was the tricky part and Beau deserves all the credit since my contributions consisted of “Just catch it!” “No, with your hands.” and “Try taking your hoodie off…” 🤣

One of Beau’s ancestors lost 6 of his children in 10 years, 3 of them in the same year, and all under the age of 12. There were other children that survived, but it’s hard to imagine that kind of grief.

Another of his ancestors, Hyacinthe Villaneuve, planted a tree at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart and then asked to be buried beneath it, and the tree still stands today.

This week we’re in northeast North Dakota searching for family history! Beau’s family landed here, in Cavalier and Pembina Counties, after leaving Europe and before eventually settling in Washington. Several years ago we went to Norway and roamed graveyards and visited farms to see his family’s past, and now we’re doing the same here!

Out of curiosity, does anyone else spend their vacations roaming around cemeteries and graveyards? No? Just us? Ok, cool…cool… 🤦🏻‍♀️

Did you know that some counties have museums? We’ve visited the museums for both of the counties where his family lived and have been impressed by their size - many large buildings filled with old clothes, cars, farm equipment, and other technology. The amount of information can be daunting, some of it is quite delicate, and sometimes you follow a lead that ends up being a different Gunderson family. But it’s pretty fun when you find information that Beau hasn’t previously seen in his online research!

(For fun: Do you know the difference between a graveyard and a cemetery?)

We visited the Audubon National Wildlife Refuge and drove along their auto tour route. It was a bit cold and windy so we didn’t spend a lot of time outside with the scope, but the scenery was lovely and we did get to see some birds and cows too! The younger ones kept bluff charging the RV, while the older ones were content to lie in the grass with birds on their backs.

On Saturday we visited the Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site. The site features a replica earthlodge, like the ones that used to line the river, where you can still see impressions in the ground from where these homes once stood. We enjoyed the museum and the short walk to the river and former village sites.

With that we’ve crossed off all three of the national park sites in North Dakota!

Every minute of this sunset just got better and better! Lake Sakakawea State Park.

We were supposed to spend the end of this week at East Totten Trail Campground on Lake Audubon, an Army Corps of Engineers campground, but when we arrived the 30amp on our power post had been melted by a previous camper 😖 We made do with the 20amp overnight, but in the heat of the day we kept tripping the breaker. We switched to an empty neighbor’s power post for a few hours, but could see the whole campground was going to fill up over the weekend, as were most of the campgrounds at surrounding parks. We were lucky enough to snag an incredible spot at Lake Sakakawea State Park and decided to make the move yesterday, it was worth it! We have an incredible view of the lake, and walked over to their shop to grab some ice cream and enjoy the sunset last night.

Hot tip if you’re visiting North Dakota state parks, buy an annual pass - it’s good for all the state parks and will save you some money on their daily fees!

First photo is from Lake Audubon, the rest are from Lake Sakakawea.

Thanks for subscribing to our adventures! Unfortunately our newsletter didn’t go out at the end of July, so there are a few posts that you might have missed. To catch up please visit these links…

1. Boondocking in the Badlands
2. Sunset in the Badlands
3. Badlands National Park
4. Rocky Point State Recreation Area

We caught the raptor show at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum outside of Tucson, and it was worth it! January 2022

We’ve been back on the road for a month now and we’ve already traveled through 6 states and visited 10 national parks and monuments, bringing our total since buying Reba just 10 months ago to 15 states and 25 national park sites!

Even on days when we aren’t out exploring I try to appreciate the changing scenery outside our windows. I marvel at the animals we encounter, from the tiny grasshopper to the mighty bison. I wonder about this land, what it was like before and who has stood in the places I now stand. I feel fortunate to have learned early in life not to wait, grateful for the circumstances that have allowed us the opportunity, and proud that we’re out here doing it!

Lewis and Clark State Park

The Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site wasn’t a fort, but was the longest-lasting fur trading post in the west (39 years). It was built on the land of the Assiniboine. The trading post was dismantled so the timber could be repurposed, but a century later it was made a historic site, excavated and rebuilt to replicate the site from the 1850s. The Missouri River used to flow right where the video at the end is taken, but now sits about 700 yards away. This historic site spans 2 time zones in 4 counties across 2 states.