I Found IT !

Over at YAHOO 360 the definition of "meme" mentioned by Editor in his post of October 10th in trying to get Phillip,Moose and Dana to carry on additional topics for the reason why they write. Meme's the Word What is a meme? From the dictionary: meme (mēm), noun: A unit of cultural information, such as a cultural practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another. In the world of blogging, a meme is any idea that is spread from one person to another. It can be anything from a funny news story to a game of some sort to a what-type-of-kitchen-appliance-are-you? quiz. If you got the idea from someone else and you’re spreading the idea to other people, you’re contributing to a meme. Blog Tag: There are a million versions of this one too – basically write about something, and then tag someone else. Of course, with a game like this you don’t necessarily have to wait to be tagged – just go ahead and start a tag blog! (Thanks to Yahoo 360 for their definitons) How fun is this?!? I want to "meme" Jody over at http://www.thehunterswife.net/. Please don't be to upset ; ) In essence I think we already do a lot of this. Find topics of conversation we would like to continue and develope to say in a different fashion...

Custer's History at Fort Abraham Lincoln

Our visit to Fort Abraham Lincoln, 7 miles south of Mandan,N.D., on route 1806 in September opened up the pages of history to which we had little knowledge. The Fort was originally called Fort Mckean and was established on June 14,1872, by the 6th Cavalry under the direction of Lieutenant-Colonel Daniel Huston. At the Commissary Storehouse - reconstructed in 1992,now a bookstore, located close to the entrance of the park you can catch a guided tour of the Custer home replica built in 1989. The original Commanding Officers quarters was built in the summer of 1873 for George and Elizabeth Custer. They lived in their new home until a fire claimed it in February 1874. Another new home was constructed the summer of 1874; the same Victorian style used in the first and common for the time period. Several original family articles were seen on display during our tour. "Lieutenant Colonel- General" George Armstrong Custer arrived before his wife at the Fort, with the 7th Cavalry, in the Fall of 1873, to ensure the expansion of the railroad in the Dakota Territories. It became a very important outpost with 6 companies or 650 Infantry and Cavalry soldiers keeping things going from 1873 - 1891. The men were Irish or German immigrants. The physical traits of no more than 165 lbs. and short stature to protect the health of the horses. George had the distinction by those who knew him of being an eccentric. On many an occasion he would warn wife Elizabeth, or one of the servants of his trips down the banister in the entry-way. They would leave the front door open for him to land out on the front porch. What a ride! When we finished at the Custer home we headed off to the re-constructed barracks to see what the common living space would have looked like in an era when they lived so far away from civilization. Our guide Diane, an Native American ,raised with 2 sisters by her mother away from the Kansas Reservation, shared her heritage with us. She called herself an apple..."Red on the outside, white on the inside". She spoke of the beliefs of historians about what went on at the "Battle of Little Big Horn", June 25th-26th,1876, the way the remains of the soldiers were treated after death. It is believed that Custer had an Indian woman since he was not dismembered in the same manner as the other soldiers who lost their lives that day. The only injury other than gun shot suffered by Custer was punctured ear-drums. This interpreted to mean that he "didn't listen" to what he was told in life so they made it impossible for him to hear in the next life... North Dakota has many areas of interest so if you get a chance to take an extended vacation I would recommend hitting the I-94 from one end of the state to the other for a delightful excursion.

Outdoor Outfitters Retail Stores

There are so many outdoor outfitters available to us that it can be difficult to make up our minds where to go to find all our hunting needs. Specialty outfitters and local farm /hardware stores all vie for our consumer dollar; whether it be in person, catalog ,or catalog online. The opportunity to travel a few weeks ago gave me a chance to "kick the tires"of the different retail outlets, figuratively speaking. A lot depends on where you live and what is close by. Then again, planning a special trip isn't a bad idea to checkout that gun, bow, fishing pole or canoe that is on the "want list". Leaving Jamestown, N.D. on Tuesday, September 25th, we headed east on I-94. The next major city we stopped at was Fargo. We discovered in January that the Scheels chain had built a 196,000 square foot(4 acre) site. Absolutely the biggest free standing establishment of this chain store I have seen. It opened this summer on July 1st, so we stopped to check inside. I found it very bright and inviting inside. Spacing between clothes racks, very nice and the racks not so packed the clothes might fall off if you brush by to closely. It is a fact I like "Bright and Neat". Back to S 45th Street, heading south over the I-94 bridge, we found another outfitter - GanderMTN. I was not enticed to stay and browse very long by my surroundings, not to say it isn't a good supplier...I just like atmospheres that are brighter. Traveling on down the road passing other outfitters we made our way to Owatonna, MN. I had another stop to make;) May be you already know where I'm headed. Ah YES!Cabela's...One of the closest stores to home associated with this company. It was very exhilarating. Running from the clothes,shoes ,guns, archery and binoculars etc...just like a child in a toy store. Time went by to quickly before the need to be back on the road arrived. Reading some fellow bloggers - such as Dana over at "The Wild Woodswoman" she referred to the Cabela's Master catalog Fall 2007 on August 11th,2007 ( I am among the group to have one too ;) ) Was able to follow along. Preach IT Dana! Jody posted on September 20th ,over at "thehunterswife.net" that they are looking forward to the opening of a new Cabela's store over at Hammond,Indiana in a few weeks, October 19th. All of us know where she will be shopping for some important Christmas gifts. There are many others who have posted as well on their shopping preferences. Bet you can literally feel a connection to what they are sharing. I know I can... POST UPDATE : You may have caught the comment by Kristine...She said that over at "skinnymoose.com/tailsandtrails", Rick ,was able to get a media tour. He got to wander around the East Hartford, Connecticut Cabela's that will be opening on October 19th. I think you would enjoy seeing all his pictures. Click the link over in the side bar so you can get over there!

The Mandan at Ft. Abraham Lincoln

On Monday ,September 24th ,we found ourselves back tracking westward on I-94 ,over miles we had seen the day before. There is a good reason the decision was made to do so. We traveled 7 miles south of the town of Mandan on highway 1806 to reach our destination. Three years ago we,my grandson Nick, daughter Kyli , her husband Justin and I, got to visit the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck. It was a wonderful experience that started in the prehistorical periods. We saw some artifacts of the prehistoric native americans which sparked an interest in the settlement discovered by chance at Ft. Abraham Lincoln. Our guide for the On-a- Slant village was of the Sioux tribe from the Standing Rock Reservation in South Dakota. He mentioned that they had one person on staff of Mandan descent that does conduct tours. He told us the site they are working on rehabilitating was inhabited from 1575 - 1700's. Due to the exhaustion of natural resources they left the area and returned years later when the resources were once again able to sustain a community. This year we included the sight seeing of the adjoined area as well in our one day side trip with our daughter. She hadn't had a chance to see it yet since moving north. Each of us purchased an "Interpretive Pass" and the cavalier had to pay to enter, even had her own sticker to say she could take us where we wanted to go since everything was pretty spread out. George Armstrong Custer had been apart of the history at Ft. Abraham Lincoln. In the next few days I will be sharing more about about what we saw and heard during our visit. It was a cold, rainy day ,but enjoyed none the less...