Minot, N.D., convention tours

Reservations are required for all tours and must be made in advance. Use the Tour Registration Form (PDF 70K).

On-site registration: A Satrom Travel & Tours representative will be available at the tour desk located in the FMCA Information Center beginning Sunday, Aug. 14, to take reservations on a space-available basis.

For more information about tours, contact Satrom Travel & Tours at (800) 833-8787 or (701) 258-5000.

Historic Bismarck, Mandan City, Fort Abraham Lincoln and Custer's Home

Bismarck and its across-the-river twin, Mandan, act as the gateway to the authentic West. You will tour the historic capitol of North Dakota, Bismarck, known as "The Skyscraper on the Prairie," as well as the North Dakota Heritage Center Museum. Lunch will be at the historic Peacock Alley, the former Patterson Hotel, a political hub in the early 1900s. It will consist of a turkey croissant, a deli salad, and a non-alcoholic beverage. After lunch the tour will head to Fort Lincoln State Park to see a recreated Mandan Indian village from the 1600s and the museum. The tour concludes with a visit to Fort Abraham Lincoln, headquarters of the Seventh Cavalry, General George Armstrong Custer's last command, and the house that Custer designed for his wife, Libbie, guided by costumed historical interpreters. Snacks can be purchased at the Fort Lincoln State Park gift shop.

Price: $60 per person (includes round-trip motor coach transportation, tours, tour guide, and lunch)

Duration: 10 hours
Minimum: 30 passengers

Top

International Peace Garden Tour

In 1929 a horticulturist from Ontario, Canada, Dr. Henry J. Moore said, "To God in His glory, we two nations dedicate this garden and pledge that as long as men shall live, we will not take up arms against one another."

The purpose of the International Peace Garden is to sustain international appreciation for friendship among all countries. The gardens consist of 2,339 acres of floral splendor spread over forests, gardens, and lakes. At the end of the formal walk is the Peace Garden Chapel, the only building allowed to bridge the United States/Canadian border. Deer, waterfowl, elk, and moose call the Garden "home." A step-on guide will join us for a drive through the park. On the way to the Peace Garden, you will enjoy the unspoiled and isolated North Dakota countryside. Lunch is included at the Peace Garden, consisting of a sandwich, salad, dessert, and a non-alcoholic beverage.

Price: $55 per person (includes round-trip motor coach transportation, tour, tour guides, and lunch.)

Duration: 9 hours
Minimum: 30 passengers

Top

North Dakota Birding Tour

Join Ron Martin, a North Dakota biologist, and learn about the birding and wildlife areas of North Dakota. Discover what the North Dakota Birding Society is all about. The society's purpose is to promote the birds in North Dakota, stimulate public interest in birds, and foster the preservation of bird life in its natural habitat.

Discussion topics will be: attracting bluebirds and other cavity-nesting songbirds; attracting wildlife to your backyard; and building nest structures, feeders, and photo blinds for wildlife. Learn about the hawks, eagles, owls, and falcons of North Dakota as well as tips for spotting North Dakota prairie specialties, which are not easily found. A box lunch consisting of a sandwich, salad or fruit, cookie or cake, and a non-alcoholic beverage will be included.

Possible destinations depending on time will be the Minot waste water lagoon system for migrant shorebirds and waterfowl; Buffalo Lodge Lake in McHenry County for mixed-grass prairie species; and Denbigh Experimental Forest for woodland birds. If time permits you will visit the J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Reserve, one of the crown jewels of the national wildlife refuge system. It is the largest of North Dakota's refuges, extending nearly 50 miles along the Souris River in the north-central part of North Dakota. The refuge was established in I935 and encompasses more than 58,000 acres of grasslands, woodlands, and marshes. The refuge bird list includes nearly 300 species, with 125 species nesting in the area. The refuge is approximately a one-hour drive from Minot.

Ron Martin's biography:

• Twenty-five years of birding experience in North Dakota
• Chairman of North Dakota Bird Records Committee
• Breeding bird survey coordinator for North Dakota
• Co-author of Birding North Dakota
• Co-author of Bird Status And Distribution On The Sheyenne National Grassland
• Co-author of Bird Status And Distribution On The Little Missouri National Grassland
• Co-author of A Birder's Guide to North Dakota (due out late 2005)
• Great North Plains regional editor of North American Birds Journal
• Past president of the North Dakota Birding Society

Price: $70 per person (includes round-trip motor coach transportation, tour guide, and lunch.)

Duration: 9 hours
Minimum: 30 passengers

Top

Discover the Magic of Minot with the Minot City Tour and Dakota Boys Ranch

Minot, the hub city nestled in the tree-framed valley straddling the meandering Souris (Mouse) River, grew up with the railroad. It was chartered in 1877 on the heels of Jim Hill's push westward with the Great Northern Railroad. The city is named for Henry Davis Minot, son of a wealthy Massachusetts financier and railroad backer. Today, the city's magic can be found in the landscape, the atmosphere, and its people.

A step-on guide will give you the history, the "Magic" of Minot. Some of the sights you will see are the campus of Minot State University and the dome complex; Roosevelt Park & Zoo; Bicentennial Park; the Ward County Courthouse; and a stop at the Scandinavian Heritage Park.

Enjoy a tour of Dakota Boys Ranch where a guide will board the motor coach to welcome you and provide information on the ranch. You will have time to walk around the ranch. (This tour has no scheduled lunch stops. There are no snack bars available. If you need a snack or refreshment, please bring it along with you.)

Price: $25 per person (includes deluxe motor coach transportation, tour, and tour guide.)

Duration: 3.5 hours
Minimum: 30 passengers

Top

Old Soo Depot Transportation Museum, Railroad Museum of Minot and Taube Museum of Art

Experience the Heart of Downtown Minot at the old Soo Depot Transportation Museum and the Western History Research Center, a completely restored 1912 Soo Line Depot, one of the finest ever built. This museum focuses on the transportation history of the American West.

Visit the Taube Museum of Art, renovated by the Minot Art Association as a center for visual arts and includes the Prairie Art Store.

Tour the Railroad Museum of Minot, which displays railroading history of the region from 1886 to the present time through photographs and other memorabilia.

Price: $30 per person (includes deluxe motor coach transportation, tour, and tour guide.)

Duration: 2.5 hours
Minimum: 30 passengers

Top

Magic City Express and Dakota Territory Air Museum

Travel through Roosevelt Park on a 2/5-scale Great Northern F-8 locomotive following a one-mile-long track. Next you will experience aviation history at the Dakota Territory Air Museum with displays of famous military and vintage aircraft, providing the most comprehensive aviation facility in the state and region. The Dakota Territory Air Museum was founded in June of 1986 with the developer's dream and desire to provide the most comprehensive aviation facility in the state and region.

Aircraft on display include a Lockheed T-33 USAF Jet Trainer, the first jet assigned to the Minot Air Force Base in 1957; the Grumman TB Avenger; the Douglas C-47 (DC-3), a World War II transport plane; a Douglas C-47 Cockpit (Cabin) display; an L-T-V (Chance Vought) A-7 Consair 2; a Curtis P-40 Hawk; an L-29 Soviet Jet Trainer; plus many other civilian aircraft as well as numerous aviation photographs and a large collection of aviation literature and periodicals.

Price: $25 per person (includes deluxe motor coach transportation, tour, and tour guide.)

Duration: 2 hours
Minimum: 30 passengers

Top

Lewis and Clark Expedition

On this tour you will depart the fairgrounds for Washburn to the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center. The center houses state-of-the-art exhibits and the world-famous artwork of Karl Bodmer, who chronicled Plains Indian life and landscapes along the Missouri River. You also will tour the reconstructed winter quarters of Fort Mandan where the Lewis & Clark expedition wintered in 1804-1805. This is where Sakakawea joined the explorers. The tour continues onto Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site where you learn more about the friendly Indians who helped prepare the explorers for the harrowing route ahead. You also will walk to the Big Hidatsa Village where Sakakawea lived. Please have lunch before the tour departs.

Snacks are available for purchase at the Interpretive Center.

Price: $40 per person (includes deluxe motor coach transportation, tour guide, and tour.)

Duration: 6 hours
Minimum: 30 passengers

Top

Garrison Dam, Falkirk Mine and Fish Hatchery

The Garrison Dam, located on the Missouri River at Lake Sakakawea, is one of the largest rolled earth-filled dams in the world. Construction on the dam began in 1947 and was completed in 1954 at a cost of $295 million. The Army Corps of Engineer manages the dam for flood control, the generation of hydroelectric power, navigation, and irrigation. Lake Sakakawea, which is created by the dam, has become a recreation mecca.

Construction of the Falkirk Mine commenced in 1975 with the building of access and hauling roads, lignite handling and processing facilities, power distribution and fuel systems, water treatment plants, office, shop, and warehouse facilities. The lignite seams being mined in Falkirk were laid down during the Paliocene time, about 55 million years ago, just after the age of the dinosaurs. The Williston Basin was at that time a vast swampy area covered with lakes. As the Rocky Mountains rose, sediment eroding from their uplifting covered these swamps. The peat accumulated in these swamps ultimately became the lignite coal we know today.

The National Fish Hatchery brings in millions of walleye, northern pike, and trout eggs each year for hatching. The tiny fish are nurtured in the hatchery's ponds until they are large enough to survive in local streams and lakes. Snacks will be available for purchase at Falkirk Mine.

Price: $30 per person (includes deluxe motor coach transportation, tour guide, and tour.)

Duration: 5 hours
Minimum: 30 passengers

Top

Dakotah Rose Home and Pointe of View Winery

This tour will depart the fairgrounds for the Dakotah Rose Bed & Breakfast, a historic classical home completed in 1906 for Dr. Andrew Carr Sr., one of North Dakota's earliest medical specialists. The interior of the home reflects the Victorian lifestyle with a parlor, tearoom, library, solarium/music room, and ballroom. The butler still can be summoned with a special bell system located on each floor. The Dakotah Rose has seven antique-filled bedrooms. If they are occupied, they will be closed for viewing. You will enjoy brunch in this beautiful home followed by a local florist's floral demonstration.

After a brunch buffet, you will depart for Pointe of View Winery. There you will tour the indoor and outdoor vineyards, followed by wine tasting and time to browse.

Price: $45 per person (includes deluxe motor coach transportation, two attractions, tour guides, brunch, and wine tasting.)

Duration: 4 hours
Minimum: 30 passengers

Top

Experience Rugby, North Dakota, Geographical Center of North America

Travel north to Rugby, North Dakota, the Geographical Center of North America. Visit the city’s featured attraction, the stone cairn that marks the geographical center of North America. This location was established in January 1931 by a United States Geological Survey. The cairn was completed in August of 1932. Tour the Prairie Village Museum with rows of classic cars, a fully stocked general store, antique guns, a hobo jungle, early train travel, wildlife displays, and a complete pioneer village. Revisit history along wooden walkways through 27 fully furnished pioneer buildings, as well as the main museum with countless displays. There are more than 35,000 square feet of history and heritage housed at this site. The biggest attraction is a life-size replica of Clifford Thompson, a native of Rugby who formerly was the world's largest man. He went through an abnormal growth spurt at the age of 12 and reached the height of 8 feet 7 inches when he was 27 years old. He weighed 460 pounds and wore size 22 shoes. View the impressive 88 foot Northern Lights Tower and Interpretive Center, which is magnificently lit with multi-colored beams by high intensity lights every evening.

Stroll through unique gift shops and exclusive boutiques with high quality items. Visit the Victorian Dress Museum and Boutique as well as a needlecraft shop that offers handmade gifts and supplies for the crafter, both located in downtown Rugby. Also of interest in this area are the heritage restorations and antiques, perfect for antique hounds. Buck’s Sport Shop features the finest western wear and accessories north of Texas. A lunch buffet is included consisting of roasted chicken, meatballs, mashed potatoes, gravy, vegetable, salad bar (lettuce and dressings), coffee or tea, and dessert.

Price: $45 per person (includes deluxe motor coach transportation, tour, tour guides, and lunch.)

Duration: 9 hours
Minimum: 30 passengers

Top