On a recent journey into the Plains area near Dahlen, N.D., I was introduced to the "Dahlen esker." It's a glacial hill that must be at least 100 feet high, a few hundred feet wide and several miles long. I also saw two old American Indian sites.
The evening before, I'd talked with Marlene and Sandra Larson and new friends Jean and Russ Hoverson, all from Larimore, N.D. I'd learned there are some really interesting things to be found right here in our backyard.
The next day, we explored those sites.
It was one of those mixed days when the gray clouds hang low, threatening to pour rain yet never quite following through but it remained cool.
The Dahlen esker is about 20 miles northwest of Larimore and was most impressive. My sister and daughter really were surprised that I hadn't heard of an esker. They learned back in grade school about those glacially built surprises on the surface of the Plains, they told me.
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I pretended not to hear as we drove the rough road up and over the Dahlen esker. I watched the sky instead. There were two big eagles soaring and diving above the tall hills. Then, more eagles joined until there were about six moving in circles, probably watching for movement on the ground between the eskers.
The esker must look like a smile from an airplane because it seemed to curve in a giant half-circle. I'd guess it stretches several miles east and west.
My daughter, Karen, climbed to the top and said the ground was covered with small rocks, almost as if someone had dumped them there. I suspect those small rocks had been big rocks or even boulders that were ground fine by the glaciers.
Eskers are inverted riverbeds, Marlene and Sandra told me. Hmm, I thought; that doesn't really make sense; how can a riverbed rise so high above the Plains?
But when I got back to the office the next day, I looked up the Dahlen esker. My friends were right. According to a North Dakota Geological Survey article, eskers "were deposited by streams and rivers that flowed on top of the glacier, in the cracks of the glacier, or in some cases, in tunnels beneath the ice. Imagine a river flowing in a valley or crack in the glacier. The banks of the river were ice and, in some places, the floor was also ice."
The ancient rivers deposited sediment, just like rivers do today. The ice banks eventually melted away, leaving these gigantic hills on the plains.
We spent some time watching the eagles and wishing we had the energy to climb the steep hills, but also enjoying the chilly day and good conversation.
Then, we drove to explore two other sites, both of them on private land. The first was what many people in the area suspect was an Indian ceremonial ground. I suspect it was a village site at one time because I thought I could see the steps in the side of the hills beside the river a telltale sign of tribal people who grew crops.
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On the other side of the river, which now is dry, was an area that looked like it might have been ceremonial site.
The site might need an expert eye to determine if it is indeed an old village site.
Our last stop before returning home was a trail that went south and gradually turned west. The land is privately owned, as I mentioned, but the people who own it let us on their property to see the path. They knew this was a trail followed by Indian people who were moving from one area to the next because the stories of these travelers have been passed down from generation to generation.
You actually could see the path, which still is worn down into the earth. This part of the land never was cultivated, and so the path is easy to see. There also are rocks in a small circle, probably used for these Indian travelers' cooking fire.
Did I feel the presence of the spirits of the past relatives, probably who had passed that way many years ago?
Probably . . . yes.
I also must add that the good spirit of the people who live there now is evident, too evident in that they were willing to share with us the secrets of their land.
