Day 31-ND/SD State Line to Bismarck, ND (81 / 1,277 miles)

As it winds on its southerly course through the Dakotas, the River is bounded by highway1804 on the east and highway 1806 on the west. The numeric designations, of course, are the years in which the corps of discovery passed through the Dakotas on their way to and from the Pacific ocean. Unlike other parts of the Lewis and Clark Trail there's no chance of getting lost in this area!

Traveling upstream, Lewis and Clark could usually only travel 11 to 13 miles a day in this region.  With their journey well documented by multiple journals, each little community along the River is able to pride itself on its own unique piece of Lewis and Clark history.

The town of Pollock, South Dakota, pictured above, is the site at which Lewis and Clark court martialed a private for uttering "mutinous expressions". He pled not guilty but was convicted and sentenced to 75 lashes and  "discarded" from the expedition, which meant he had to return to St. Louis on the keelboat the following spring.

My sag driver has been uttering mutinous expressions about wanting to return home on Monday!  Despite my preference to continue riding, I have decided not to "discard" her.

Lewis and Clark enjoyed considerably better relationships with the Mandan tribe they encountered in this area than with the Tetonic Sioux.  They camped near the campground we stayed at last night and according to Clark, "those Indians Stayed all night, they sung and was very merry the greater part of the night."