Scouting Around Lake Sakakawea

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Although a day sitting on the shores of Lake Sakakawea is always relaxing, TJ encouraged me to venture off and to see some of the sights I had read about. Since these things were of more interest to me, TJ stayed back to take care of some things at the campsite while I went exploring. I found several interesting places and other curiosities on the 9 hour drive.

Garrison Dam was the largest and most impressive. The Missouri River is the longest river in the U.S., and it’s waters form Lake Sakakawea behind the dam, the third largest man-made lake in the U.S. by volume and second largest by surface area. I learned that there is more shoreline on this lake than the coastline of California, and the structure is the largest rolled earthen dam and is 2 1/2 miles long, 1/2 mile wide at its base, and 210 feet high. It is also interesting that the granite that lines the shores came from Minnesota. The spillway bridge is visually the star of the show, but the entire structure, the power house, intake structure, and the waters behind it are to be marveled.

Just below the dam is the Garrison Dam National Fish Hatchery. It’s original mission was to raise pallid sturgeon, which were endangered at the time. They have successfully brought this species back, and they now raise several other species for many different wildlife agencies, such as walleye, northern pike, and shovel nose sturgeon, they also raise non natives like chinook salmon, brown, rainbow, and cutthroat trout. Interestingly, they only spawn and raise the fish here, the sponsoring agency is responsible come get the fish, tranport them to the water body and release them. On my visit they only had trout that they were raising in the facility, other than the fish and turtles in the touch tanks in the visitor center. The fish were fun to watch swimming around in the tanks and I did learn that all turtle carry salmonella, so if you touch one, make sure you wash your hands.

The curiosities included statues, walls, and a ferry boat. The town of Riverdale has a mermaid holding court in the center of a park. I knew she was there, but as Misty Mermaid sits calmly among the greenery of the plants, I was surprised to see directly in front of her a short wall that displays rocks or petrified wood from each county in the state.

With it’s proximity to Lake Sakakawea, the Town of Garrison shows off a large walleye named Wally at the end of Main Street. It’s blue-green and yellow skin shining brightly in the sun.

The Town of Washburn has the Sioux Ferry, one of the last paddle-wheel ferries to operate on the Missouri River. It was built and run by one man, Oscar Anderson, and it now rests as a testament to that era in a park next to the Missouri River, where it once plied it’s trade. Ferries had operated in this town since the early 1900’s as the nearest bridges crossing the river were too far away to be practical. The Garrison Dam made navigatng the river more difficult and caused him to stop operation of the ferry in 1962.

There are a few more things along the way that will be featured in their own upcoming individual posts. I had a really enjoyable day touring the area and it showed us that sometimes if we have different interests it is okay to explore on our own. If you are in an area and there is something you want to see and the opportunity is there, by all means, see or do it whether with someone or by yourself.