From Bismarck, ND to Beulah, ND
From Bismarck, ND to Beulah, ND
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The point of today's planned route is to visit the town and are where my father was born and grew up -- the small town of Underwood, ND.
The weather report this morning indicates we should have a dry ride although the day will probably not be very sunny. Rain is expected to continue to the north of my route and in Montana to the west. I have a nice continental breakfast at the hotel and head out by 9:30. Well it is not raining but it is pretty cold, only 53 degrees as I pass a bank with a time / temp display out front.
Before
I head toward Underwood, I take a quick spin south to the State
Capitol. At first I have trouble finding it. Then I remember the
phone call with my father and his comment that he remembered when the
original building burned in the 30s. Clearly this rational Art Deco
style building was the state capitol building. The sculpture in the
middle of the lawn is of Sakakewea -- the Indian woman that
accompanied Lewis and Clark on their expedition to explore the
Louisiana Purchase.
The building is definitely lacking in the triumphant appearance of traditional domed capital buildings. In fact it is a bit reminiscent of the Soviet style wedding cake architecture of Moscow and eastern Europe.
I leave Bismarck and head north on US 83. This turns out to be a very nice four lane highway, just short of a freeway because of the many uncontrolled access crossings and intersections. The countryside remains handsome even in the cold air. The wheat and other crops are deep dark green. The plants are still short but they shimmer in the wind. The hills are rolling and the road follows the terrain so the ride is a nice up and down. The wind finally gets to me and I pull over to put on my rain suit for additional wind protection. I feel a lot better and can enjoy the ride a bit better.
At
Washburn, I stop to spend some time at the Lewis and Clark
Interpretive Center. This is a new facility but does a very good job
describing the expedition. I learn a lot of things here. There is an
excellent description of the provisions required by the expedition.
If my memory serves me correctly they left with nearly sixty tons of
equipment and supplies. This required a number of ships. The center
includes a dugout canoe that was built by center volunteers. It is
hard to imagine moving this boat around rapids and water falls by
itself much less loaded with its share of supplies.
There is also a number of discussion points relating to native American cultures. It was stressed that generally the tribes of the plains were very gentle people. They would infrequently battle each other over minimal hunting ground issues but generalized war was rare. I was also surprised by a discussion on the variety of domesticated crops. My impression of Native American farm technology was that there was none. I assumed or had been taught (not sure where to place the responsibility -- as if that is important) that as nomadic peoples they ate off the land. Whatever food plants existed were taken. But it seems that they were much more clever than I thought. The other point that was covered again was the issue of tribal leadership. The disconnect between the European ideas of organization and leadership versus the Native American cultural norms was immense. I think in the coming months I will do more reading on these topics.
So I get back on the road and shortly arrive in Underwood.
I had specific expectations about Underwood based on family methodology and my own imagination. I guess I expected a small town that was clearly the remains of something great in its past. I guess sort of like a mining town that exploded and then collapsed as the ore rain out. In this case, the ore would be wheat and farm products as farms consolidated and family farming disappeared.
And
it was like that and different at the same time. Underwood sits in
the middle of North Dakota's coal fields. I knew this from my Dad's
stories (not only did he have to walk five miles in the snow to go to
school, he also had to drive the wagon to the coal mine to get coal
to heat the house). There is a large power generation facility
outside Underwood. Farming is still important, Underwood has two
large multi-silo grain elevators.
But mostly Underwood is a sleepy town. It is clearly a town where people live but few work. There are few or no business on Main Street. A collectible shop, an auto parts store, a package store, two restaurants, a feed store and two gas stations are about it in terms of commerce.
When
I last spoke to my Dad he said he wanted a picture of his old school.
So I wander the streets, I never ask for directions until I find it.
It pretty modern looking, but I notice the name and date at the roof
line 
and
make the assumption that this is the same building where my Dad
attended school. I go inside to the office and find out that this
building is now used as Underwood High School. When my Dad attended
here this was the school from first to twelfth grade. The woman in
the office tells me that the office now occupies what would have been
the fifth grade classroom. When I tell Dad this he knows the room I'm
talking about. This little visit to this building is a very odd
bridge across a significant portion of the last century.
I stop and have lunch at a place called Grandma's. It looks better than the restaurant / bar combination across the street. As I go in, a diner who is leaving tells me the food is good but she (presumably Grandma) may talk my ear off. The food is good but uninspired. Grandma isn't sure what to make of me what being an outsider and all. Apparently my accent is different enough from whatever she is used to that she has trouble understanding me. I don't mean hearing -- she can hear fine. She gives me a tourism booklet to read while I wait for my soup and sandwich. As I'm paying my bill I notice the prominent placement of her Watch Tower brochures and I make a mental note that perhaps it was better that she didn't open up.
Mark, who helped me prepare for this trip and sends a weekly
e-mail with things that he has remembered after reading my postings,
has mentioned that he sometimes visits graveyards. They are a source
for a lot of information and impressions about towns that he has
visited. So I wander out to the Underwood graveyard 
to
see if I can find Grandfather Engler. I have no idea where to look
but it jumps out at me. The road is nasty gravel and I'm surprised
that I could find it. Its strange to see the name of this man and
woman.
My father's mother died when he was three years old. My father's father died when I was eight. I met him once but I was so young that I have no memory of him. It is a very strange sensation seeing the names of these two people that are so important to my existence but of whom I know nothing. I don't learn much here but I am surprised to see that grandfather served in the Spanish American War and that my younger sister shares his birthday.
I have one aunt that still lives in Underwood. Since I have little experience in the 'having a family' department,, I don't understand why she and her husband would want to visit with me and I leave town without calling and even saying hello. Today I failed by not pressing myself to do something that makes me uncomfortable. I miss a growth experience and probably a pleasant visit.
I leave Underwood heading further north. Dad has suggested that I visit the Garrison Dam that forms Lake Sakakewea. At the time of its construction, the dam was the largest earth filled dam in the world. It is an amazing structure. The highway that I'm following cross the dam -- a drive of approximately 2.5 miles.
From here I continue heading north making a loop through the farm country and riding out to the edge of the North Dakota Badlands. Ahead, I can see that the weather is beginning to change and a dark gray / black cloud is on the horizon. My route seems to be skirting the southern edge of the weather system. East of Hazen, North Dakota highway 200 makes a turn to the west. At that point, I am driving directly into this storm system. I'm a little gun-shy due to the tornado close call in Sioux Falls and the hail storm in Bismarck. I can see lightening in the cloud and see the rain starting to fall ahead of me.
At Beulah, a new motel presents itself and I decide it is time to pull the plug on today's ride. I haven't gotten very far today and I'm a little frustrated. But here on the north prairie there are no places to take cover should a hail storm or severe weather event take place. The motel is really nice -- a chain based in Minnesota they offer the quintessential Nordic amenity: a steam sauna. I spend over an hour in the pool, hot tub and sauna.
Tomorrow: Does the rain stop?
Depart hotel heading south on US 83 to North Dakota State Capitol
Depart Bismarck on US 83 heading north.
Stop at Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center in Washburn, ND
Continue north on US 83.
Arrive Underwood, ND
Depart Underwood, ND on US 83 heading north.
Transition onto North Dakota 200 heading west.
Visit Garrison Dam
Continue on ND 200 heading west.
Arrive Beulah, ND
(c) 2001 Thomas N. Engler Revision Date: 06/20/2001
