North Dakota - Days 21 & 22 - in the campground

Lake Sakakawea State Park, Pick City

Wednesday, 21 & Thursday, 22 July 2021

We stayed in the campground these 2 days, mostly because it was very hot and I didn't want to spend much time outside.

Both days we had rain, thunder and lightning - on Wednesday, that's what started the day, though it cleared up in plenty of time to dump a lot of heat on us, and on Thursday, things were reversed because it was very hot all day until about 5 PM, when the thunder/lightning started, followed by a heavy rain at around 7:00.  Something for everyone.

Both days I had only an intermittent internet signal, usually not available at all until the afternoon.  I tried to do some catching up on the blog but it was discouraging.  At down times I tried to make inroads on the photo editing backlog.

These are photos of a Russian olive tree, according to a couple of park rangers I saw.  They told me these are an invasive species here, but park visitors like them so much they've taken to planting them.  That was obvious because they were growing in locations that would have been impossible if Nature had its way unaided, and they were growing all over the park.  They had small thorns, too, like mesquites.

I asked about them because they reminded me a lot of mesquite trees, and I was surprised that neither of these rangers had heard of mesquites.  Surprised because I'd have thought they'd at least know good barbecue can depend on using mesquite to cook it, but I guess they're just kids and haven't learned this yet.

Lake Sakakawea is the largest man-made lake located entirely in North Dakota, and it's also the 2nd largest in the US by area and the 3rd largest by volume.  It's a pretty lake that has a very un-pretty history.  Built in the 1950s as part of a flood control and hydroelectric power project, the US Army Corps of Engineers was careful to spare several predominantly white towns in the area but inundated 2 towns of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation.  Not only were the tribal members displaced from their homes with almost no compensation, but the Corps influenced Congress to prohibit the tribe from allowing their cattle to drink from the reservoir.  (They wouldn't even let the cows drink the water??)

I'd heard the whole time I've been in the state that this is a very popular lake.  I found it hard to get a camping reservation until I asked for mid-week dates.  There were lots of people here while I was, and it looked like most of them were interested in the fishing.

We saw lots of deer while we were here, and my early morning walks with the dogs were a little scary for me because I kept thinking they'd scent a deer and try to chase it, with me dangling on the leashes behind.  Luckily for my still very sore arm, that didn't happen.

We were all pestered with flies, though, especially Dexter.  For some reason, the flies go after him much more often than after Gracie and me, though they definitely don't make us feel neglected.  But they can chase Dext indoors because of them biting him.