Getting Started
The first two week of our trip involved revisiting some of our favorite places on our way west. We spent a few days with my parents while I attended a workshop on teaching with virtual reality workshop that felt like a trip in itself. Then we spent a night with Derek’s family in East Grand Forks. Friday we were ready to see where the road would take us. We just had to decide what roads to take. That proved to be a challenge.
Sakakawea State Park
We decided to spend the weekend at Sakakawea State Park by Garrison, North Dakota. This is a typical reservoir state park.
The Campground:
We stayed in the primitive sections. There were no pads or driveways just grass. We could put our 5th wheel anywhere within the spot and the lots were huge. It would be fitting that our first campsite ever with our 5th wheel would be difficult to get into. When we tried to back in our spare tire (mounted under the 5th wheel bottomed out because of a ditch around the campsite. Our neighbor showed us how he got in driving across several campsites and we did the same. We were worried about getting blocked in but thankfully were able to get out when it came time to leave. We stayed two nights here, a Friday and Saturday. The campground was quiet at night and busy during the day. Our neighbors ran a very loud generator all day long that really got to me after awhile. I guess that is the downside of a primitive camping spot. The vault toilets were pretty gross and the drinking water had a strange taste. I made the mistake of making some cold brew coffee with it that I could not manage to drink.
What We Did:
This was a nice recovery time after we finished our school year. Sacajawea is a big fishing lake. Since we didn’t want to shell out the money for an out of state fishing license we didn’t fish. We visited the local hatchery and took a tour. We saw some huge sturgeon and were fascinated by the management of fish populations. It’s interesting to consider the impact dams have had on fish like sturgeon.
The trails in the park are open to mountain bikes so we spent considerable time riding the trails. We road the Shoreline Trail to the North County Scenic Trail. It was pretty much a mowed grass trail which made for nice introduction to off road biking for me. We spend considerable time riding on this trail. The park also has a nice swimming beach, it was pretty chilly in early June. Overall this was a fun place to revisit and to relax.
Overall Review: Sites were spacious but difficult to back into. Water wasn’t great tasting but doable. The park was very dog friendly.
Theodore Roosevelt North Unit – North Dakota $12 – One Night (+ Park Admission)
We have frequented the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park but have never been to the North Unit. I thought this might be a fun place to check out while wondering. The park is pretty basic. They have ranger programs in the evenings Friday – Sunday. We were there on a Sunday but forgot to go.
The Campground
The campground is primitive, it has some nice pull through spots. There were flush toilets in the restroom and the bathrooms were very clean. The campground was very quiet and we enjoyed talking to other travelers. Most people were just staying a night and moving on. We had no cell service at this park besides at some high points on the scenic drive. We also picked up the America The Beautiful Interagency Pass for $80 while here.
What We Did
We walked down the river (Little Missouri) and waded to the sandbars. The river was higher than I’ve seen it in the south unit. There is an 18 mile scenic drive that has several places to hike and beautiful views of the badlands. We did this before dinner so did a small amount of hiking but planned to return the next day. Wildlife in the park included Bison, Pronghorn, and Big Horned Sheep. We planned to return to hike in the morning but woke up to rain and had a long drive ahead of us so just packed up and moved on.
Bell Fourche Reservoir –
We didn’t really know where we were going next when we left Theodore Roosevelt. I had told Derek and Jasper they were in charge. Jasper though Mount Rushmore would be fun to revisit, he really wanted to see the light show, then he wanted to see a few things at Yellowstone again so we headed south. We read that the light show was changed due to some construction so changed our minds. I suggested Devil’s Tower but that was voted down with grunts of “isn’t that just a butte?” The guys suggested Spearfish, SD. As I researched places to stay I realized Belle Fourche Reservoir had a campground. Almost 20 years ago I worked on an archeological survey here during my brief stint as a field archeologist so I thought it would be fun to see the resulting campground.
The Campground
The advertised prices looked great too; $21 for an electric site with $5 admission to the park, Derek wanted to charge the batteries so we were hoping to find an electric site. Upon arrival we were told we needed to go online to find a site because the staff could not do it for us. So after a reservation fee, out of state fee, and the $5 admission fee we payed closer to $40. The sites were a nice size, each had a fire ring, and we backed right up to the reservoir. The park was quiet, it was during the week. I imagine it gets busy on the weekends. The water tasted great the bathrooms and showerhouse were pretty clean. This was a dog friendly place with a fenced dog park for the dog to run.
What we Did:
There is a nice beach here and the sunset was incredible. This is a typical reservoir with fishing, swimming, and relaxing. There was a nice fenced off leash area for the dog. We only stayed the night and hit Spearfish for laundry and groceries. We found a nice laundromat just down the road from the Lookout Mountain trail head so Derek and Jasper were able to go tackle a fun trail before a thunderstorm rolled in while I tackled and laundry and got our groceries put away. I can say we left the Black Hills with a big case of FOMO. There is so much to see and explore in this area and we had only touched on a small amount the last time we visited.
We headed out of Spearfish in a thunderstorm and into Wyoming not exactly sure of where we were going besides in the vague direction of “Yellowstonish” All we knew were there were mountains ahead.
Sara Baird 