We
arrived at Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site the afternoon of
September 11 and met with the staff we would be working with for the next two
weeks. The park has a very small staff,
which is nice, and we will be able to get to know everyone. We spent the rest of the afternoon settling
into our RV site, which is located next to maintenance building. The site has full hookups and is located just
a few minutes away from where we’ll be working.
It may not be the most scenic site, but it’s perfect for us. We are so grateful that we didn’t have to
look for a hard-to-find campsite at one of the campgrounds that caters mostly
to oil field workers.
Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site |
Tim’s contract
at Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site involves organizing, rehousing
and cataloging the park’s herbarium sheets.
These sheets comprise Fort Union’s
collection of dried plant specimens, which are mounted and labeled for
reference. The
original plan was for me to help Tim with some of the organizing and photographing. I would spend the rest of my time as a
volunteer. I had planned to edit the
park’s web site and other printed materials.
Helping
Tim, however, became more of a priority, and I soon began working exclusively
on sorting and alphabetizing the herbarium sheets by family, genus and species;
labeling folders with genus names (thank goodness I learned how to print nicely
in first grade); labeling each sheet with the catalog number; filing the sheets
into the appropriate folders; photographing each sheet; labeling the divider
sheets and placing the folders into the herbarium cabinet boxes. What did Tim do, you might ask? He spent his time wrestling with computer
programs and entering all of the data about each sheet into the catalog
database. I think I preferred my
job. I thoroughly enjoyed learning
something new, working with Tim and being involved in his project. We were very proud of what we accomplished. The best part, however, was working with the
wonderful staff. Everyone was so welcoming
and made us feel like a part of the team.
Lots of Herbarium Sheets to Organize, Rehouse and Catalog |
Cataloging Herbarium Sheets |
Organizing and Rehousing Herbarium Sheets |
Lisa and Tim with the Finished Product |
Even
though we worked six days a week, we also had time to learn about the fort and
to visit a few of the nearby sites. Fort
Union was the most important fur trading post on the upper Missouri River and
operated from 1828 to 1867. Built by
John Jacob Astor’s American Fur Company, Fort Union is located at the
confluence of the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers. The fort was never a military post, but
instead a center of peaceful trade between the Plains Indian and white
cultures.
Bourgeois House, Home of the Field Agent and Chief Clerk |
Southwest Bastion and Palisade Walls |
Fort
Union Trading Post National Historic Site is a partial reconstruction of the original
fort, based upon extensive archeological excavations and historical
documentation. I was especially
interested and amazed at the number of artists and other people who visited
Fort Union during the nineteenth century. George Catlin, Karl Bodmer and John James
Audubon were just a few of the famous guests who passed through Fort Union. The paintings, sketches and descriptions of
the fort these individuals produced left an invaluable record that assisted in
the reconstruction.
I was
able to take the time to hike the Bodmer Overlook trail, which leads to the
point where Karl Bodmer made his sketches of Fort Union in 1833. This vantage point provided an expansive view
of the fort and the confluence of the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers in the
background. The oil boom, however,
intruded into my view when a train carrying a line of oil cars passed in front
of the fort. Past and present – will they
be able to coexist?
Fort Union from the Bodmer Overlook Trail |
![]() |
"Fort Union on the Missouri" by Karl Bodmer (NPS Photo) |
Fort Union in the Bakken Oil Field |
Tim and
I also visited nearby Fort Buford State Historic Site, a military post
established in 1866, and the Missouri-Yellowstone Confluence Interpretive
Center, which had exhibits on the history, geography and geology of the area.
Fort Buford State Historic Site |
With a
bit of trepidation, we also ventured into Williston, the closest large town to
the park, for groceries. Surprisingly, it was not as crazy as we expected,
probably since we went on Sunday. We had
lunch at a surprisingly good Thai restaurant, completed our errands and quickly
returned to our little sanctuary.
The
weather was crazy the entire time we were at Fort Union. There was frost in the mornings during our
first week and a heat wave with temperatures in the 90s the second week. Grasshoppers and crickets were everywhere, as
well as swarms of mosquitoes, making sitting outside virtually impossible. Who would have thought there would be
mosquitoes in North Dakota in September?
The only
real drawback to our location was the virtual lack of any internet or cell
phone signal. We were really cut off
from the world for two weeks. Tim was
able to find four PBS stations and occasionally one or two network
stations. Our evening highlight was
watching Ken Burns’ documentary, “The Roosevelts: An Intimate History,” which
happened to run during our stay. I had
been hoping we would be able to watch the series and was grateful that we could
see it. I enjoyed the series even more than
expected because of our recent visit to Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
During
our stay at Fort Union, we had a major decision to make. Where should we go next? Our original plan was to cross North Dakota
and head to the Great Lakes to enjoy fall colors. However, we soon discovered that the
long-term weather forecast, which called for an early winter, was not the best
for RV travel. We ultimately decided that
we wouldn’t have enough time to enjoy the area before the cold set in. What then was Plan B?
Tim came
up with a great idea to follow the Missouri River south, just like Lewis and
Clark on their return trip. We weren’t
sure what there might be to see, but had no doubt that we’d find something
interesting.
You need to start thinking about writing a book on your travels! The photographs are incredible.
ReplyDeleteInteresting enough, I watched the Roosevelt's documentary, it was great, and I am reading Eleanor's autobiography! I am seeing a piece of Theodore's life through you! :)
Thanks, Ana. All three of the Roosevelts were amazing individuals. I appreciate Theodore even more after learning about him in North Dakota.
DeleteIf you're ever back in the Hudson River Valley in New York, you would love a visit to Val-Kill, Eleanor's home. We went there on our nine-month trip, and the tour there was one of our favorites.
Amazing restoration of the Fort. LV
ReplyDeleteYes, the National Park Service did a wonderful job. It makes it easy to picture yourself back in the fur trade era.
Delete