Day 46-- Looking for a closed road. What?

That was the size of it today, as we learned that the Old US 281 had been closed for a few yeas but that there were many pothole lakes and ponds that held good bird life in them. We wanted to find them.

It seems that in 2009 when the waters of Devils Lake rose to unprecedented levels, many roads were overrun with water and  one of the prime roads that was hit was US 281 that runs north and south through the state to the Canadian border on the north and the South Dakota border on thg south. That meant that the entire section of road had to be rebuilt in another (higher ground) place. The road that remained is in pieces, with some of it intact and some of it under water and much of the roads in between impassable. Those were the stretches that held good bird life for good reason. It's sort of like they say about the DMZ in Korea. As there has been no one in that area for 60 years the birds have made it a haven. So too, with Old US 281. At least to some extent.

In order to gain  entry to the road we drove four different roads that were perpendicular to it and found that every time the road ended and was closed due to an eroded or unsafe road. We ended up going to the north end of the road where it formerly bisected US2 and drove that. We could only travel two miles before we ran into the end of the road as it was over run with water.  But we did finally get to "Old US 281".

THis is a piece of the Old US 281 that is now under water
across the Lake. The birds love it!

A typical ending of one of the cross roads just befre the Old US 281.
If you look closely you can see the old "Stop" sign on the other side.

The day ended with a dinner at "Mr and Mrs J's" which had a very fine salad bar and a menu that was filled with choices as well as "Breakfast all Day" which is very common here.  The trip to see the Buffalo at Sully's Hill after supper  was put off until tomorrow as the winds came up strong (30 mph) and the skies were dark (poor light for photography). A bit later we received a few hundredths  inches of rain.  Tomorrow perhaps? Pictures follow.

                           The end of "Old US 281" looking south. We did finally find it.

We did add to our daily list of birds here and proceded then to find the Old US 281.

Many ofthe farmers were out in the fields working the land and preparing for planting, some already planting corn, beans, and wheat. Most of the wheat grown here is winter wheat planted in the fall.  We tried to find another State Park but were told after we could not find it, that it, too, had been flooded and no longer existed.

                                 Two Pintail Ducks in tandem. The Pintails are not seen 
                                           very often so we were happy about seeing these.

                                An American Avocet that insisted on walking in front of the truck.

                                    
                                             A Ring Billed Gull that aired its wings for Ruth.       

                                   The town of Minnewaugan or "Spirit water" Population 234.

On the road  to get to that area we stopped at an old town that has been "resurrected" so to speak.  That town is clled "Minnewaukan" or "Spirit Water". A town pf 235 it is on the edge of Devils Lake and included in the Flood District.  Devils Lake is called a Basin Lake in that it only loses water by evaporation.

Tomorrow we will look over Stump Lake Management Wildlife District (WMD)

Day 45-- Two hundredth bird species seen.

Story is at the end today. (See below)

One of the flooded roads that goes nowhere.

Controlled burning while the wind is down.

Our lunch/picnic spot today looking at Devils Lake.

The RR workers even stopped for us before they tooted their Train horn.

Our "Campground" behind the Holiday Inn Express.

 This afternoon, Ruth and I celebrated on the way out to an Island near Devils Lake. There  was a  Wilson's Phalarope swimming in the water, as they do, in order to catch insects off the water and any edible food as well.  Here it is. A diminutive bird, but elusive, as it moves about quickly on the water so fast it is difficult to get a focused picture much less a video. (We managed to get some of both.)

Wilson's Phalarope which spins in the water.

A second bird was the American Avocet which we had seen a few times. It never ceases to catch your breath with its delicate looks. It is quick in the water and today we saw one chasing a duck away fom where it was feeding three times. The duck finally got the message.

We also were able to capture quite closely both the Red Winged Blackbird and the Yellow Headed Blackbird. The Red Wing puffed its epaulets nicely .

American avocet with an upturned beak

                                                












Red Winged Blackbird with its epaulets puffed.

Yellow Headed Blackbird

We lunched on Graham Island in the middle of Devils Lake, stopped on many pot holes in two counties and put on 164 miles in doing so . One effort was a "dead end" when we could not find the entrance to a NWR (Alice LAke). Later we found out that the entrance was under water and no longer existed. We drove some 70 miles looking for it. Found  a few birds while looking.
The remainder of the day allowed Jim to get a haircut. He really got scalped! (This is Indian country right?) Then a dinner at a very fine Steakhouse. Tomorrow we will head west  to bird again with better direction .We will return to Sully's Hill to catch the Buffalo in the evening.

Day 44-- At the Spirit Lake Band of Lakota Sioux land

Buffalo on the Spirit Lake Indian Reservation

A view of Devils Lake (Spirit Lake) from Sully's Hill.

The controlled burn right up to the Visitors Center at Sully's hill

 The Sisseton-Wahpeton Band of Mississippi, or Eastern Sioux, and the Cuthead Yanktonai call the The Spirit Lake Sioux Reservation home. We spent most of outr time today on that reservation. One of the features of that land is the Sully's Hill National Game Preserve. There is a large herd of Buffalo there, some Elk, Deer and other wildlife and of course for us...birds!  Lots of pothole lakes. We did see our first warblers since Texas with the spotting of a Yellow Warbler.  Although not as close as we would like, we did get a photo of the bird.

It is there . A Yellow Warbler. Our first warbler.

 Sully's hill was named after General Sully, who never stepped foot on it,. His troops were waiting for his arrival, but he never showed, so the troops as a joke , named the hill "Sully's" . The name stuck to this day.

We did not see the Buffalo there but did a few miles later. There is a Company that raises and prepares Buffalo meat for sale and they have a large herd a few miles from Sully's hill. 

On a similar road a few miles away is the Old Fort Totten. Established in the 1860's , it was a fort to "protect settlers , then Indians , until the Indians were "assimilated" and then it was turned over to the Bureau of Indian Affairs  (BIA) as an Indian School from the 1880's until the 1960's. It is now a National Historic site, and is used for vacationers to lodge there or to vist and tour. 

Some of the barracks and buildings at Fort Totten 

Commissary and Mess Halls At Fort Totten

The Story of Fort Totten

Probably the stables at Fort Totten


We ended the day with a visit to the Fish and Wildlife WMD to secure some maps of the NWR that we wanted to visit. Sandy took care of us and we came out with a great map of the area and the National Wildlife Refuges and more.
As there is a "help yourself" breakfast at the Motel we just have to eat dinner out (lunch always is in our "cooler"). So tonight it was our favorite fast food places (Jim loves tacos and Ruth loves KFC) There is a place that serves both at the same counter.
Tomorrow we head for Alice Lake NWR and the west end of the Devils Lake.

Day 43-- Rolling to the "other" Dakota (North)

That about sums it up. "Rolling" is the operant word there as we had a tail wind about 2/3 of the way and then as predicted in the PM the wind switched to the north and it was a headwind. It makes all the difference  in the world on mileage, when pulling the trailer. A 15-20 mph headwing can change the mileage by 1-3 mpg. Gasoline price here has been at $2.39 pretty regularly for a gallon. We saw three hawks today , but identified only two while driving at 60 mph. Rough Legged Hawk and the Ferruginous Hawk. This is "pot hole" country , so get ready for good bird totals.

Some photos of the road north to Devils Lake (US 281) most all the way.

Much hay along the way, some for feed others for bedding.

We are in North Dakota!  We WILL see Buffalo!

Ok ...Name the year as well as the models.
Seen by the side of the road in Edgeley.

Somebody asked if we got any birds today. Here is proof
that we did.

Quite typical North Dakota land. Beans, corn or wheat.
Not as much cattle as neighboring states.

Very important are the wind breaks. Many like this
one are often three rows of trees. Keep crops from
drying as well as keeping soil in place.
Quite a change from "Dust Bowl" days.

The last 15 mile into Devils Lake is a rock bermed road
along the shores of the Lake. It separates the eastern
part from the western part of the Lake. This is Sioux tribal land.

Tomorrow we will begin to explore the very large Wildlife Management Area which covers more than 15 National Wildlife Refuges and other Wildlife Areas. The light rain of this evening is supposed to leave and warmer, drier weather (69F ) will prevail.

Day 42-- A South Dakota "All American Day".

      After reviewing what we accompished and saw today, that seemed to be a good way to put it all together. This is our last full day here in South Dakota and tomorrow we will journey north to Devils Lake North Dakota, on what will be the last "North bound leg" of this trip. After that  it will be east and south. Already we are further north than our home in Michigan. Aberdeen is 45 degrees 47 minutes North of the Equator. Grand Rapids Michgan is just less than 45 degrees North.

     The day started with decisions of what time to attend church (we actually decided that last night) and when to do the laundry and should we come back to the trailer to change clothes before doing the laundry.  Big decisions when traveling , eh? That last seemed to be the wisest decision.  Our church attendance was at another First United Methodist church here in Aberdeen.  It is a unique design as you can see. The original church has been added to three times and the old church, (three blocks away) has been sold to the city for recreational uses. The tower holds stained glass in the very top.

An arial viewof the First UMC in Aberdeen SD.



We did get to hear their 11 member bell choir play, and saw how much space they have created for themseves in all the attached structures. I returned later in the day to get some pictures and Ms Chumley gave  me a "cooks tour" so that I might get some ictures. I am posting them on the Face Book page for our home church, "First UMC Grand Rapids MI".  The message by the pastor was unique in that it was about "evangelism" as this summer is a huge  effort to interest chidren  in Brown County in knowing Jesus.

I don't have any picture sof the laundry, but it was success at $1.25 a washer load. Most laundramats are ,25 cents per 12 minutes of drying time. While Ruth was attending the washing and catching up on some computer time, I got the gas tank filled, and the truck washed (lots pf dust from those side roads).

We the headed for breakfast at the Millstone Family Restaurant which we had seen this week as we drove by a few times .

During a drive back to where we had been two days before, but without the long drive around the NWR, we stopped at ponds along the way and secured a number of birds with some great opportunity for  photography.  Remember that this part of South Dakota has more water than 100 miles south. Hence many ponds and pot holes.

 A Sanderling among many of them on the mud flats searching for food.

This is a White faced Ibis. 
Seldom seen except at migration.

                                

                                                                                    The White Faced Ibis flying that Ruth caught 

                                                                                                 with the "Big " lens.

One of the ponds that held many species 

of waterfowl. This is on the edge of the Sand Lake  NWR.

An barn, typical of the old west with the domes

 used for holding pulleys to lift hay bales. Today, 

machinery eliminates this process.

A farmer getting the ground cultivated for

 either beans, corn or wheat. This was today.

A park in tiny Columbia SD, that depicts the rural school children

saying the pledge to the flag. Below is one of the two plaques

depicting the "Pledge" and the "Spirit of Liberty".

As I indicated we will be heading north tomorrow, So we will see what North Dakota has to offer.

Day 41-- Are there Scottish Folks in Aberdeen, South Dakota?

For the most part there very well might. It is not necessarily a Scottish ancestral community. James Mitchell one of the founders was born in Aberdeen Scotland and named the town forthwith.  Early history tells that the James River flooded the main street everytine there was a rain the first two years of its life. Finally a well system was built, but in driling they hit  the main underground water system which flooded the main street to four feet. Finally a system of valves was constrcted and VOILA, Aberdeen had its own water supply.

Another intresting story was the battle for the County Seat. Originally Columbia (nearby) was designated as the County seat (Brown County),  but when the land prices skyrocketed, Aberdeen was chosen. That did not set with the residents of Columbia and it went to the Legislature to settle. They deterined Aberdeen should be the County Seat so for a nunber of years after that the records kept moving back and forth between the two towns as locals would steal the records back to claim the title. Finally Aberdeen secured the records and became the County Seat of Brown County SD.

Trains that run through on the BNSF RR carry such items as the pipe for oil pipelines in the unit train. Unit trains  can move from loading to destination without any switching saving time and money (about 50% cheaper) 

This train had about 50 flatcars with 11 pieces of pipe on each flatcar. 

                                                                                                   

                                                                                    The town of Aberdeen has about 27,000 people

                                                                                    and is definitely a farming/ranching community.

                                                                                      This is the original Main Street, although most 

                                                                                           businesss are on 6th Ave, east of downtown.

The birding today was light, but we did see a first for us on the trip, and that was the bird in the picture, the Wilson's Snipe. (That might bring back stories about camp and a "Snipe Hunt"? ) Tomorrow will be church at yet another "First United Methodist" church, here in Aberdeen. You will not believe the original structure of this church , although they have built a new one just next door.  (More on this tomorrow I am sure.)

First United Methodist Church (1906) Aberdeen SD

The new church is on the left.

                                         Wilson's Snipe , seen on the main highway roadside.

                                      Two Hooded Mergansers, seldom seen, but 
                                                  were on the  pond in our park.



 Our total bird species count is now at 193 species seen on the trip.  Very few warblers yet.

Day 40--Sand Lake National Wildlife Reserve...Excellent birding!

Ruth finally had to admit  that there WERE Pheasants in South Dakota and that this WAS the Capital for Pheasants in the world. She started counting them to make sure we saw a few, but eventually stopped counting them as we saw so many of them.

This one walked right across the road in front of the truck.

The one that was strange was this one which lay down on the road and didn't move for a while.

Sand Lake  is a National Wildlife Refuge  that is mostly mud flats and a huge lake in the middle. These are shallow lakes so they have to be kept at water levels that allow the birds to feed and use the habitat. This day they were adding water from the Jmes River which it is in the middle  of.  We drove around the perimeter, which is norally 15.5 miles , but because of a road that had washed out it ended up being 37 miles, including a large add on on the northern end. Birding was supurb with many Bald Eagles and hawks beig seen along with huge flock of White Pelicans and some 200 or so Snow Geese that still were there.

Our total for the day was 54 species which is the second highest daily total on the trip.  On the Refuge alone we netted 37 species.  It is a dynamic place and we were the only ones there today. 

White Pelicans were in two large groups. 

The Snow Geese are behind the 100,000 that have already left the area for the north.

A remarkable group of birds are these Yellow Headed Blackbirds, a more westerly bird. They, too were getting ready to head north in a large flock. We saw them three times today.

Many of the farmers were out in their fields readying the fields for the growing season. Wheat and corn was being planted, and corn stalks were being cut and stored for silage.  The equipment today is unbelievable and enormous in size.  Here are a few of the machines we saw.

A machine that wraps the silage  after the roll is placed on it. 

Some are inserted in a continuous roll and wrapped as they are added to the roll.

                                                                        A tiller and  shallow plow that prepares the 

                                                                           soil for planting. It is about 30 feet wide.

This is an amazing, air driven seed planter, that opens the soil,
plants the seed and covers it up afterwards all in one operation.

                                        A corn cutter that turns a stalk of corn (totally)
                                         into silage for cattle to use. It puts it into a wagon "bin".

Yep. Learned a lot today about birds and farming. See ya tomorrow.