A big thanks to Deputy Cody Meadows and his K-9 Jack for giving me a lift to the store in Washburn, ND!
A true brother in the crazy world that is law enforcement.
They will always be my family ! wherever I roam now!
Keep the faith all my family who wear that badge!
And please for god sakes take care of each other! http://www.mcleancountynd.gov/departments/sheriffs-office/
A quick break. At the Tesoro gas station! Thanks Tony, Hunter,Shyann, Austin! Zeusy says your the best!
Zeusy says thanks
Barry the Whitewater Kayaker who I met at the confluence of the Missouri and Yellowstone highly recommended going up the Knife river to see the NPS site called the Knife River Indian Village.
So when I found the Knife I took a right turn and upstream I went.
I paddled pushed, pulled and shoved until I arrived at Sakawea Park in the City of Stanton, ND and overnighted there.
The next morning was more of the same. The river had dropped over night and we kept going until it became just too hot to drag the canoe any further.
You could not see anything at all over the banks at this point.
I had earlier phoned the site and found Mindy who greatly helped me figure out where I was in relation to the site.
Figuring I was close Zeusy and I climbed the bank only to find an even higher and steeper levee.
Over we went and we found a massive field.
Time to call Mindy again. After a few minutes comparing landmarks off I went.
I walked about a mile through the field when I ran smack dab into it!
Made it!
First person to find was Mindy and gave her a huge thank you!
Here we met Jeff who was very informative about the site.
Three villages were here for many, many years.
Using earth lodges as homes the people farmed, hunted and to a lesser extent fished for the substinance.
The lodges have been worn down to small mounds but still give an idea of the layout of the homes.
Inside a re-creation of a lodge I spotted something I haven’t seen in months. A bed. Oh the temptation in the cool earthen lodge!
Soon I was back to the Knife river and after an easier 3 mile trip downstream we returned to our journey on the Missouri river.
I would also say thank you to the employee who gave up her lunch tupperware so Zeusy could have some water. I am sorry I did not get your name because I was really excited about being there!
Here is the link!
While Zeusy and I were eating a fantastic breakfast of grilled cheeseburgers I reflected on how this fortunate event came to be.
Yesterday I was one day away from resupply and around 1pm I had long past smoked my last one and was down to one potato and one small can of green beans.
This is when a gentleman named Barry showed up looking at the confluence.
He asked how I faired in the storm the night before. I told him we did well. A little more discussion and it turns out Barry for the last 15 years has been chasing hardcore whitewater rivers to paddle his kayak down.
Even more so he spent 8 months circumnavigating New Zealand paddling a bicycle.
Wow!
In no time Barry was giving me a lift into Fairview, Mt. to buy smokes and a pepsi. If you know me well those are my vices.
As we drove he shared with me some great stories of his adventures while also saying that he is a Musher near Yellowstone (park) during the Winter.
Born and raised in ND Barry now lives in Bozeman, Mt.
He said his whitewater days may be coming to an end. He has lost a few friends to such extreme adventures and may be getting into something like long distance paddling.
A great guy to talk to and I am sure whatever he is into next will be thrilling. (Did not get a pic, crap)
So later in the evening when I had drank the Pepsi and smoked almost all of smokes of the pack I bought earlier I was sitting there contemplating a few things.
Should we go to bed now and why did I need to use up a lot of my water after flushing my eyes out.
Why I kept my eyes open when spraying insect repellent on my head I have no silly idea.
So two more guys show up to check out the confluence. Shortly after they came over to talk canoes. Renting mine.
There was a Girl Scout troop at the other end of the campground that had six canoes on it. He wondered if those were for rent first. They wanted to paddle around in the confluence.
I told him I had no idea about the other group and was initially negative about mine. I really thought he was just messing with me !
So after talking for a few minutes I realized they really wanted to paddle around in the confluence.
After they reassured me they wouldn’t sink it and were very good swimmers we dumped out the mess of rainwater and mud and in they went.
They paddled accross the Missouri into the fast current of the Yellowstone. They looked like pros.
Soon they paddled back in returned the canoe and we talked for a bit.
Jake and Waylon work over at the Casino in Trenton, ND. and were just out sight seeing. (Pic above)
The both hale from Belcourt, ND which is the Turtle Mountain reservation. Their people own the casino in Trenton.
We talked further about geographical locations of the places they mentioned and Waylon said he likes the very cold Winters because of Ice fishing on his local Lakes. That is sounds like a ton of fun!
Jake says he is going to go to Lewis and Clark State park in ND and do a 13 mile canoe paddle they have there.
We exchanged names and such and they got ready to leave but not before they hooked me up with more smokes and a warm coke with the name Jessica on it as Cokes ad Campaign. I told Waylon all the Jessicas I know are hot so I will take it.
Off they went.
So I sat for awhile enjoying the sunset and they fact my eyes no longer burned and found Waylon on Facebook.
In no time I had a FB message that said they were bringing me food and asked if I needed anything else.
A short time later they returned with their friend Blake with bread,cheese, raw hamburger, a bunch of Mountan Dews. Many large cans of beef stew and chicken. Topped off with a small bag of charcoal to cook the burgers !
Wow! I was floored ! They didn’t have to take the time to do that for us! But so grateful I am they did.
The mosquitos made any more socializing an impossibility and off the went to kick around in Fairview.
I went to bed excited. These four guys truly made my day with their kindness to this complete stranger. And for that I thank each and everyone of you !!!!
By the way, Zeusy loved his cheeseburger breakfast too!
In The Middle of Somewhere 