20090831—Back to North Dakota
This morning I returned to the USFS Ranger Station in Lemmon and talked with two very helpful staff who gave a lot of oral and printed info about the National Grasslands program. I bought a map showing the FS lands from there North to above the northern unit of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. I used this to decide to follow US12 to US85 heading North to North Dakota. Along the way I was entertained by a radio program geared to the Indian Nation (at the Standing Rock Reservation, just to the North), giving calendars of events and public service announcements mixed in with comments from a curiously unselfconscious host who made a running commentary on the announcements and the 1960's songs he played. I wish the station had a website so I could stream it at home. I used the map to walk some grassland parcels a bit and visit a small outlier National Wildlife Refuge, unlisted on the State map. I have a lot of literature to read later this evening.
I need to mention a wonderful metal sculpture in Lemmon built up from a couple thousand used and discarded items (tractor seats, belt link chains, skill saws, bicycle sprockets and many other things) all recognizable. Needless to say—I got pics. The sculpture depicted a larger than life cowboy riding a bucking dinosaur (the kind with a couple of horns running from his forehead down the middle of his face and with a large, wide frontal shield, kind of rhinoceros shaped). The 60 million year anachronism fit in nicely with the petrified wood park, only blocks away. Or maybe the folks there are creationists and the world is only 4500 years old?
When I reached I94 I headed East 18 miles to Dickenson where I scored some soy yogurt, then turned back West to reach the Theodore Roosevelt National Park ~5:00PM.
I checked into a commercial RV Park just outside the gate to get WiFi access.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Petrified Wood
20090830 -- Petrified Wood
I walked the periphery of Indian Ridge Campground before departing for Mobridge. There I squatted on some motel's WiFi for a while and send the blogs that had accumulated and checked email. Crossing the bridge over the Missouri (mid span) brought me into the Mountain Time zone. I wished Tim had been with me to observe the event.
15 minutes along US12 brought me to the turn off for the Sitting Bull Memorial. That is a pedestal topped with a bust of Sitting Bull. Nothing else except a short 300 word history of that great man. It is on a high point overlooking the river and the plains near the place where he was born. Apparently, per a brochure at Indian Ridge CG, there is a non-profit attempting to raise money for a visitor center, but there was no sign of that at the memorial itself.
On the road, ~another hour brought me to McLaughin. There the Grain Growers Union dominates the town. There was some activity, although limited by this being Sunday. I watched four 18 wheeler size trucks disappear into the elevator buildings, then emerge empty to be weighed again. On the adjacent tracks a quarter mile of grain hopper cars were being shunted in, and an engine was left attached to move them along to the next ones could get in position. It looked like they could load 2 cars at once. There was also a very large pile of grain heaped outside, I think from the harvest last year, since it had some greenish discoloration, but I could not get close enough to this to look at it closely. The pile was perhaps 500 yards long, with a triangular cross section perhaps 40 feet high at the top. Later, some miles farther along US12 I saw a combine harvesting a large field, and got some photos as it neared the end of a pass and turned around for another.
In mid afternoon I pulled off US12 at Lemmon, looking for a grocery story. Across the street from that there is a square block comprising the worlds largest petrified wood collection and historical museum. There are a couple of ~8 foot long petrified logs, dozens of stumps, dozens of obelisks built from smaller pieces, a museum building with exterior walls built of this, complete with 'petrified mud' flooring including petrified or fossil grass or reed imprints, a gift shop, some rocks with signage claiming that the slash marks or grooves they showed were dinosaur claw marks, a few dinosaur bones, and a whole lot of of other marvels. The museum was two rooms each the size of Janski's store containing a lot of donated items, both natural history and old timey stuff from the Native Americans and settlers.
Crops in this area are wheat, sunflowers, corn, oats. All of the straw is baled for sale. A lot of hay, in the same large barrel shaped bales as well, from smaller fields and ditches that do not permit use of the big rigs used for the other crops. I think some hay also comes from lands that have grassland conservation easements, that permit a cutting after mid July when, supposedly, the birds have finished nesting. After an area of rolling hills near the Missouri, the land is way flat and open.
I saw a US Forest Service Ranger station on the outskirts of Lemmon, closed for Sunday. I'll return tomorrow to get info on the National Grasslands they administer. In the meantime, I headed 12 miles South of town for an evening at the Shadehill Recreation Area administered by South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks (a State Park).
No cell coverage here.
I walked the periphery of Indian Ridge Campground before departing for Mobridge. There I squatted on some motel's WiFi for a while and send the blogs that had accumulated and checked email. Crossing the bridge over the Missouri (mid span) brought me into the Mountain Time zone. I wished Tim had been with me to observe the event.
15 minutes along US12 brought me to the turn off for the Sitting Bull Memorial. That is a pedestal topped with a bust of Sitting Bull. Nothing else except a short 300 word history of that great man. It is on a high point overlooking the river and the plains near the place where he was born. Apparently, per a brochure at Indian Ridge CG, there is a non-profit attempting to raise money for a visitor center, but there was no sign of that at the memorial itself.
On the road, ~another hour brought me to McLaughin. There the Grain Growers Union dominates the town. There was some activity, although limited by this being Sunday. I watched four 18 wheeler size trucks disappear into the elevator buildings, then emerge empty to be weighed again. On the adjacent tracks a quarter mile of grain hopper cars were being shunted in, and an engine was left attached to move them along to the next ones could get in position. It looked like they could load 2 cars at once. There was also a very large pile of grain heaped outside, I think from the harvest last year, since it had some greenish discoloration, but I could not get close enough to this to look at it closely. The pile was perhaps 500 yards long, with a triangular cross section perhaps 40 feet high at the top. Later, some miles farther along US12 I saw a combine harvesting a large field, and got some photos as it neared the end of a pass and turned around for another.
In mid afternoon I pulled off US12 at Lemmon, looking for a grocery story. Across the street from that there is a square block comprising the worlds largest petrified wood collection and historical museum. There are a couple of ~8 foot long petrified logs, dozens of stumps, dozens of obelisks built from smaller pieces, a museum building with exterior walls built of this, complete with 'petrified mud' flooring including petrified or fossil grass or reed imprints, a gift shop, some rocks with signage claiming that the slash marks or grooves they showed were dinosaur claw marks, a few dinosaur bones, and a whole lot of of other marvels. The museum was two rooms each the size of Janski's store containing a lot of donated items, both natural history and old timey stuff from the Native Americans and settlers.
Crops in this area are wheat, sunflowers, corn, oats. All of the straw is baled for sale. A lot of hay, in the same large barrel shaped bales as well, from smaller fields and ditches that do not permit use of the big rigs used for the other crops. I think some hay also comes from lands that have grassland conservation easements, that permit a cutting after mid July when, supposedly, the birds have finished nesting. After an area of rolling hills near the Missouri, the land is way flat and open.
I saw a US Forest Service Ranger station on the outskirts of Lemmon, closed for Sunday. I'll return tomorrow to get info on the National Grasslands they administer. In the meantime, I headed 12 miles South of town for an evening at the Shadehill Recreation Area administered by South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks (a State Park).
No cell coverage here.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Back to the Missouri River
20090829 – Back to the Missouri River
It was a beautiful clear and chilly morning at Fort Sisseton. This prompted me to walk around the grounds. The Fort was built in 1864 and abandoned about 25 years later. The buildings were mostly lost between that time and the 1930's when some reconstruction began—so there was not much 'authentic' there except some items in the museum. But, from pictures and other evidence, they appear to have done a great reconstruction job. It has an open and clean feeling to it, kind of stark, probably very unlike the actual feeling soldiers had while actually serving there. There were a few birds in the reconstructed cemetery and some prairie remnants along my almost 2 mile walk.
I drove for an hour and a half, along SD10 to Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge. HQ was closed due to the weekend, but a ranger approached while I was finishing a peanut butter sandwich. He has been stationed there for ~20 years and was full of info. I learned that the large number of tree skeletons lining many of the potholes were the result of a very wet year in 1997 that had flooded them throughout the summer. That was the wettest year on record till this year which exceeded that. The water remains very high throughout the area, consistent with my experience as I began this trip, the flooding in Fargo that Tim and I experienced, and areas of fields that I see on my current trip—areas that had been planted and started to grow, then flooded out. Well, the high water restricted available roads at the Sand lake Refuge, so I spent only a short while there, then resumed the trail West.
The next ~80 miles were gently rolling then flattened out. Larger farms, much hay, corn and soybeans, and as I approached Mobridge there were a lot of sunflower fields. The source for my winter bird feeding in Olympia, I suppose. Or maybe the supply for the baseball players to spit out on TV?
I pulled into the Indian Creek Recreation Area near Mobridge ~6:45 for dinner, a short walk and then blogging. A phone call completed and another to go, then it's goodnight. Just in case you wondered, Mobridge is the cleverly named site of the first railroad BRIDGE across the MissOuri River in this area.
It was a beautiful clear and chilly morning at Fort Sisseton. This prompted me to walk around the grounds. The Fort was built in 1864 and abandoned about 25 years later. The buildings were mostly lost between that time and the 1930's when some reconstruction began—so there was not much 'authentic' there except some items in the museum. But, from pictures and other evidence, they appear to have done a great reconstruction job. It has an open and clean feeling to it, kind of stark, probably very unlike the actual feeling soldiers had while actually serving there. There were a few birds in the reconstructed cemetery and some prairie remnants along my almost 2 mile walk.
I drove for an hour and a half, along SD10 to Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge. HQ was closed due to the weekend, but a ranger approached while I was finishing a peanut butter sandwich. He has been stationed there for ~20 years and was full of info. I learned that the large number of tree skeletons lining many of the potholes were the result of a very wet year in 1997 that had flooded them throughout the summer. That was the wettest year on record till this year which exceeded that. The water remains very high throughout the area, consistent with my experience as I began this trip, the flooding in Fargo that Tim and I experienced, and areas of fields that I see on my current trip—areas that had been planted and started to grow, then flooded out. Well, the high water restricted available roads at the Sand lake Refuge, so I spent only a short while there, then resumed the trail West.
The next ~80 miles were gently rolling then flattened out. Larger farms, much hay, corn and soybeans, and as I approached Mobridge there were a lot of sunflower fields. The source for my winter bird feeding in Olympia, I suppose. Or maybe the supply for the baseball players to spit out on TV?
I pulled into the Indian Creek Recreation Area near Mobridge ~6:45 for dinner, a short walk and then blogging. A phone call completed and another to go, then it's goodnight. Just in case you wondered, Mobridge is the cleverly named site of the first railroad BRIDGE across the MissOuri River in this area.
Into South Dakota
20090828 – Into South Dakota
I found a small area of the grasslands I had been seeking just a few feet away from my campsite this morning. This was associated with a bluebird trail just above the campground. Many of the plants here were familiar from childhood, as were the sounds of crickets and other insects as I began the walk. I don't have deep enough knowledge of the plants to describe them, however many of them were flowering at his season. One area of the walk had some small woodlots included and at the border of these there were a large number of Monarch butterflies sheltering from a rather stiff breeze, sallying out when I disturbed them as I passed and then returning to perch on a type of shrub/tree that I have not yet identified. There were also frogs on the trail and in the grass that I disturbed. They were like those from home at Rice, and averaged to the larger end of these, with bodies maybe two inches long. I recalled that I had also seen these frogs over the last few days at Carlos.
Leaving there, I picked up US12 in Ortonville and crossed to Big Stone City (it is not a big city), SD and then shortly to Milbank. After ~20 miles there was a large grain shipping terminal, with elevators, storage, its own railroad spur, two Burlington Northern engines, and a mile (at least) of train cars. I continued West on US12 for another ~30 miles, then turned North to visit Waubay NWR. Just a couple of miles off the highway there was a pasture with 200-300 buffalo next to the road, with most of the buffalo near the fence, just 30 yards away. I approached them slowly and got some pictures, although they were a little concerned with my presence and slowly moved away. At the refuge I picked up a map and the literature, then hiked for an hour. It was not very productive birding although I may have picked up one or two trip birds there.
I returned to US12 for a few more miles, but the trucks and traffic seemed to keep pushing me along faster than I wanted. The highway is 4 lanes, excellent, new concrete, but the shoulder is narrow and difficult to access due to a 3-4 inch drop most everywhere. So I decided to parallel US12 to the North, aiming for SD10, heading North on SD25 at Webster. Along the way I came across a large rookery of Double Crested Cormorants (estimate 250-300)with many still on nests. Then later a large flock of American White Pelicans and more Cormorants crowded on the bank of a pothole—a great view in stark black and white.
Terrain along the road here is flattening out with a large number of potholes. Crops between are soybeans, corn, wheat (being harvested now) and hay without irrigation. The farms are somewhat larger than yesterday, with fewer treed areas.
About 5:00 I pulled into Fort Sisseton State Park for supper and overnight. No cell coverage here.
I found a small area of the grasslands I had been seeking just a few feet away from my campsite this morning. This was associated with a bluebird trail just above the campground. Many of the plants here were familiar from childhood, as were the sounds of crickets and other insects as I began the walk. I don't have deep enough knowledge of the plants to describe them, however many of them were flowering at his season. One area of the walk had some small woodlots included and at the border of these there were a large number of Monarch butterflies sheltering from a rather stiff breeze, sallying out when I disturbed them as I passed and then returning to perch on a type of shrub/tree that I have not yet identified. There were also frogs on the trail and in the grass that I disturbed. They were like those from home at Rice, and averaged to the larger end of these, with bodies maybe two inches long. I recalled that I had also seen these frogs over the last few days at Carlos.
Leaving there, I picked up US12 in Ortonville and crossed to Big Stone City (it is not a big city), SD and then shortly to Milbank. After ~20 miles there was a large grain shipping terminal, with elevators, storage, its own railroad spur, two Burlington Northern engines, and a mile (at least) of train cars. I continued West on US12 for another ~30 miles, then turned North to visit Waubay NWR. Just a couple of miles off the highway there was a pasture with 200-300 buffalo next to the road, with most of the buffalo near the fence, just 30 yards away. I approached them slowly and got some pictures, although they were a little concerned with my presence and slowly moved away. At the refuge I picked up a map and the literature, then hiked for an hour. It was not very productive birding although I may have picked up one or two trip birds there.
I returned to US12 for a few more miles, but the trucks and traffic seemed to keep pushing me along faster than I wanted. The highway is 4 lanes, excellent, new concrete, but the shoulder is narrow and difficult to access due to a 3-4 inch drop most everywhere. So I decided to parallel US12 to the North, aiming for SD10, heading North on SD25 at Webster. Along the way I came across a large rookery of Double Crested Cormorants (estimate 250-300)with many still on nests. Then later a large flock of American White Pelicans and more Cormorants crowded on the bank of a pothole—a great view in stark black and white.
Terrain along the road here is flattening out with a large number of potholes. Crops between are soybeans, corn, wheat (being harvested now) and hay without irrigation. The farms are somewhat larger than yesterday, with fewer treed areas.
About 5:00 I pulled into Fort Sisseton State Park for supper and overnight. No cell coverage here.
Big Rock Lake — Minnesota River Headwaters
20090827 – Big Rock Lake — Minnesota River Headwaters
I've decided to generally follow US12 back West, until Missoula, then head North to Glacier, and from there West on US2 till I cross the Cascades. Unless something comes up.
With that in mind, I went a little South and West today, through Morris and then to Ortonville following backroads. The country was very reminiscent of that from the Rice area and that from Rockville to Osakis. The crops are largely corn, soybeans, sorgum and hay, with some potatoes at one point. The farms are relatively small and seem to be occupied. They are broken up by small woodlots, some rows of trees and the natural trees and shrubbery in low spots and along streams. I did not see irrigation, and few cattle were grazing.
Ortonville is on a large lake, Big Stone Lake, (10th largest in Minnesota) that is unique in that is drains both to the South forming the headwaters of the Minnesota River which in turn drains to the Mississipi and to the North to ultimately end at Hudson Bay. There are some islands in the lake, but the lake's name comes from the Native American name for the area—that of big stones. This area has large scattered rocks, well worn and rounded, and smoothed off rock ridges visible, leading to that name.
I scouted the Big Rock National Wildlife Refuge, expecting to spend time there tomorrow. I was looking for some access to the native prairie and grasslands that are in this area. However the refuge is closed for remodeling, rerouting roads, and upgrading facilities. The roads are walkable, but mostly off limits to cars. It was also quite noisy, with a lot of quarry or gravel pit operations going on just outside the boundary at the North East end. I did finally find a ranger who assured me that the mining had no relationship to the refuge closure. All this made the refuge somehow less attractive, and I settled for a drive through on some of the open roads at dusk.
Then I headed for a campsite at Big Stone State Park, just North of Ortonville. There I had one loop of the campground all to myself. A highlight was some owl calls, similar to Great Horned calls, but with an extra note or two and a wavering quality to the call.
I've decided to generally follow US12 back West, until Missoula, then head North to Glacier, and from there West on US2 till I cross the Cascades. Unless something comes up.
With that in mind, I went a little South and West today, through Morris and then to Ortonville following backroads. The country was very reminiscent of that from the Rice area and that from Rockville to Osakis. The crops are largely corn, soybeans, sorgum and hay, with some potatoes at one point. The farms are relatively small and seem to be occupied. They are broken up by small woodlots, some rows of trees and the natural trees and shrubbery in low spots and along streams. I did not see irrigation, and few cattle were grazing.
Ortonville is on a large lake, Big Stone Lake, (10th largest in Minnesota) that is unique in that is drains both to the South forming the headwaters of the Minnesota River which in turn drains to the Mississipi and to the North to ultimately end at Hudson Bay. There are some islands in the lake, but the lake's name comes from the Native American name for the area—that of big stones. This area has large scattered rocks, well worn and rounded, and smoothed off rock ridges visible, leading to that name.
I scouted the Big Rock National Wildlife Refuge, expecting to spend time there tomorrow. I was looking for some access to the native prairie and grasslands that are in this area. However the refuge is closed for remodeling, rerouting roads, and upgrading facilities. The roads are walkable, but mostly off limits to cars. It was also quite noisy, with a lot of quarry or gravel pit operations going on just outside the boundary at the North East end. I did finally find a ranger who assured me that the mining had no relationship to the refuge closure. All this made the refuge somehow less attractive, and I settled for a drive through on some of the open roads at dusk.
Then I headed for a campsite at Big Stone State Park, just North of Ortonville. There I had one loop of the campground all to myself. A highlight was some owl calls, similar to Great Horned calls, but with an extra note or two and a wavering quality to the call.
Carlos Lake State Park
20090826 – Carlos Lake State Park
The park was so nice that I stayed on there for an extra day. I took some walks, looked at the birds that came my way, read a lot (thanks for the book, Bob), took a nap, and re-organized the RV a bit.
The park was so nice that I stayed on there for an extra day. I took some walks, looked at the birds that came my way, read a lot (thanks for the book, Bob), took a nap, and re-organized the RV a bit.
20090825 – On the Road Again
20090825 – On the Road Again
I resumed the roadtrip today, heading West with a due date in Olympia of 9/16/09.
After a visit with a friend in Becker, MN I headed generally North and West toward Rockville, Cold Spring, and Osakis, MN. This route, from Becker, took me through some towns that I was familiar with from earlier days, although I had few specific memories of any of them other than that they were hometowns for some of the people I went to school with in Onamia, and later Hastings and Fort Wayne.
I chose this route to check out the Catholic churches in Rockville, etc. I was looking to identify the locations of some of the pictures that had been puzzling me from the Rice Picture Box. I found the church in Rockville without any difficulty, but it did not match any pictures I was puzzling about. Cold Spring remains a puzzle. I found a Catholic church downtown, but it was not of the right vintage. I suspect the one from the early 40's has been rebuilt. In Osakis I had to search a little, since this is a bit bigger town. And I hit the jackpot. The pictures were of the Immaculate Conception Church there and of the associated garage and pastor's residence.
After that, I headed to Lake Carlos State Park, near Alexandria, MN, For the night. The park lived up to my expectations from earlier visits to MN State Parks. The entrance station was staffed, the park was clean and well maintained, and the bathroom/shower was attractive and clean. No fooling around with tokens or quarters for the shower—that is included in the entrance fee. The park was less than ½ occupied on this weekday. I chose a relatively isolated site, although that did not matter much since the sites all have visual barriers and feel nicely private.
I resumed the roadtrip today, heading West with a due date in Olympia of 9/16/09.
After a visit with a friend in Becker, MN I headed generally North and West toward Rockville, Cold Spring, and Osakis, MN. This route, from Becker, took me through some towns that I was familiar with from earlier days, although I had few specific memories of any of them other than that they were hometowns for some of the people I went to school with in Onamia, and later Hastings and Fort Wayne.
I chose this route to check out the Catholic churches in Rockville, etc. I was looking to identify the locations of some of the pictures that had been puzzling me from the Rice Picture Box. I found the church in Rockville without any difficulty, but it did not match any pictures I was puzzling about. Cold Spring remains a puzzle. I found a Catholic church downtown, but it was not of the right vintage. I suspect the one from the early 40's has been rebuilt. In Osakis I had to search a little, since this is a bit bigger town. And I hit the jackpot. The pictures were of the Immaculate Conception Church there and of the associated garage and pastor's residence.
After that, I headed to Lake Carlos State Park, near Alexandria, MN, For the night. The park lived up to my expectations from earlier visits to MN State Parks. The entrance station was staffed, the park was clean and well maintained, and the bathroom/shower was attractive and clean. No fooling around with tokens or quarters for the shower—that is included in the entrance fee. The park was less than ½ occupied on this weekday. I chose a relatively isolated site, although that did not matter much since the sites all have visual barriers and feel nicely private.
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