North and South Dakota September, 2023

 Sunday - September 3, 2023                                    Kansas City West KOA

We left our house around 10:00 am heading on I49 to Independence, Kansas where we spent one night at the Kansas City West KOA.  Our refrigerator had to be worked on after our last trip because it wasn't working on the propane setting.  It worked well now.  We found out that it wasn't hooked up correctly and has actually caused a small fire.  Glad it didn't burn the RV up.  We got to the KOA about 4:00 pm.  This was just an okay RV park, but it will do for one night. 

RV site at KOA

We fixed chicken alfredo for dinner and then watched some shows on Amazon Prime.

Monday - September 4, 2023                Ponca State Park, Nebraska

I got up early and there was a pretty sunrise.  We had breakfast then left the KOA by 8:00 am.

Sunrise

Another view of the sunrise

We took I24W to I75N to I29 in Iowa.  We stopped at a Wal-Mart for supplies on our way to Ponca State Park in Nebraska.  We stopped at the park office to check in and had to purchase a park pass that was $12/day on top of the cost for the campsite.  The road signage for the park was not very good, but we finally found out way to our campsite.  Before getting to our campsite we dumped our tanks and filled our water tank because we weren't sure that we would have a water hookup at our site.  As it turned out we did have a water hookup, but water out of the tank was just fine.

Entrance into Ponca State Park

Our campsite

View of the campground from our site

This is a nice park with lots of shade.  At first we couldn't get our water pump to work, but I remembered that we probably needed to turn a valve and that did the trick.  It was hot out - 97 degrees.  

Tuesday - September 5, 2023

This was a nice morning.  I cooked potato, egg, cheese, sausage burritos for breakfast.  It was really good.  We hiked on the road to the Riverfront campground and back, a total of three miles.  This park is next to the Missouri River.  The gnats were really bad in a lot of places.  

On our hike next to the Missouri River

Missouri River

Another view of the river

When we got back to the campsite, we both took naps, then had a shower.  We had leftovers for dinner and sat around reading until time for bed.

Wednesday - September 6, 2023

It was cooler this morning.  After breakfast we walked on the road to the Three State Overlook.  I had figured out that it was closer to the overlook if we walked on the road.  It was pretty steep up to the overlook, but not too bad a walk.  On our way to the overlook we saw 3 turkeys and then a deer.  The views of the river were nice, but it was very smokey because of wildfires in Nebraska.  

View of the Missouri River from the overlook

At the overlook

Mike sitting on a bench in the park

The overlook area

Had to take a selfie at the selfie station

We ate lunch at the overlook area then walked back to the RV.  We hiked a total of four miles.  I cooked chili for dinner since it was getting cooler. 

Thursday - September 7, 2023                Oakwood Lakes State Park, South Dakota

We left our camp at Ponca State Park around 9:00 am.  We stopped at a Wal-Mart to get supplies then had lunch at a Culver Butter Burger.  It was a good burger.  We arrived at Oakwood Lakes State Park in South Dakota by 3:00 pm.  We stayed at this park one other time.  It is a nice park with hookups and is in a good location for an overnight stay.  After setting up camp we walked to the dock ond on a trail next to a lake. We didn't stay outside very long because the yellow jackets kept buzzing around us.  

Entrance to the park

On the dock at Lake Tettonkaha

Friday - September 8, 2023                    Fort Ransom State Park, North Dakota

We left camp by 9:00 am driving to Fort Ransom State Park, North Dakota.  It was a good driving day with clear, nice weather.  We got to the state park by 2:00 pm and checked in at the office.  We went to the water fill area in the campground only to find out the water was turned off.  We had to go back to the visitor center and find the water filling station there.  Our campsite was nice with electric hookup and plenty of shade.  

Campsite at Fort Ransom State Park

Sheyenne River

Another view of the river - it was pretty dingy

Sodbuster Days were occurring this weekend so the campground filled up by nighttime.  I fixed baked potato and chili for dinner.  We tried to sit outside, but after I got buzzed by three yellow jackets we decided to go in for the night.

Saturday - September 9, 2023

I got up early and was rewarded with a beautiful sunrise.  I walked across the road and up to the group campsite to view the sunrise by the Sheyenne River.

Sunrise by the Sheyenne River

Another sunrise view

Mike and I layed around all morning and I made chicken salad for lunch.  After lunch we hiked 2 1/2 miles on a trail by the Sheyenne River and by the Visiter Center.  The trees here were getting very pretty.  We saw several leopard frogs while we were hiking.  They are pretty frogs.

View of trees from the trail

View of Sheyenne River from the trail

The weather was cooling off by the evening which made for good sleeping.  

Sunday - September 10, 2023

It got really cold overnight so I got the electric heater out when I got up and turned it on.  I fried eggs and sausage and made toast for breakfast.  After lunch we hiked 2 3/4 miles  on the Penderson Hill Trail and the Oak Ridge Trail.  It was a nice trail and a nice day for a hike.

Mike at the trail head sign.

Mary on top of Penderson Hill

Monday - September 11, 2023                        Turtle River State Park, North Dakota

We left Fort Ransom State Park about 10:30 am after breaking camp and dumping the tanks.  Google maps took us on a dirt road for about 10 miles.  That is really aggravating.  It rained on us a little while we drove.  We got to Turtle River State Park around 1:00 pm.  We ate lunch then walked around the camp ground a little.  This is a nice park and our campsite was nice.  We were even able to sit outside without having yellow jackets bothering us.  The bathhouse here is nice and new.  We will probably take our showers there while at this park.

Entrance into the park

Our Campsite

Tuesday - September 12, 2023

It got really cold overnight, but it wasn't bad in the RV since we had the heater going.  After lunch we hiked 2.6 miles on the Raven Ravine Trail.  This was a really nice hike.  

Mike on the trail

A view on the trail

Enjoying our hike

I cooked soup and cornbread for dinner.  A nice meal for a cold night.  So far we really like this state park.

Wednesday - September 13, 2023

It was cold again overnight.  We ate breakfast then sat in the RV reading until lunch time.  It was too cold to hike in the morning.  After lunch we hiked 3.6 miles on the Keystone Bridge, Hollow River, And Raven Ravine Trails.  These were nice trails and we had a good hike.  

Turtle River

Mike by the river

Interesting fungi

Mary on the trail

Mike and Mary by the Turtle River

Turtle River

After we got back to the RV we both took showers in the camp bathhouse.  These were really nice facilities.  Overall this was a really good day.

Thursday - September 14, 2023            International Peace Gardens and Lake Metigoshe SP, North Dakota

We left camp at 9:00 am.  It was raining really hard while we were unhooking and dumping our tanks.  Of course, it quit raining shortly afterward.  We stopped at the Wal-Mart at Devil's Lake for supplies then ate lunch at the Hardee's there.  On our way to Lake Metigoshe we stopped at the International Peace Garden.  When we went through the US customs, we missed the entrance into the park and drove into Canada and had to clear Canadian customs.  The Peace Park was really pretty with beautiful flowers.  We hiked a mile on a trail through the gardens then took a scenic drive in the Manitoba, Canada portion of the park.  This was well worth the side trip.

Mary is in the US and Mike is in Canada

Entrance to the park

A weather dial

Mike by the weather dial

Mary at dial

View of trees on the hike

Mike in front of pretty flowers

Mary in front of flowers

A last view in the gardens

We got to our campsite at Lake Metigoshe State Park in North Dakota by 3:30 pm.  This is a really nice park and our campsite was great.

Trees were getting pretty

Campsite at Lake Metigoshe

Friday - September 15, 2023

It was another cool morning.  After lunch we hiked 2 1/2 miles on the Oak Trail by Lake Metigoshe.  At the end we walked the road back to our campsite and saw two deer in the campsite next to ours.  We saw some pretty views and the leaves were changing colors a lot.

View of pretty foliage 

More foliage

Lake Metigoshe

Mike enjoying the hike

Mary with Lake Metigoshe 

Lake Metigoshe with Canada in the background

After we got back Eric called and we decided to cancel the rest of our trip and head home.  We'll go to the other places at another time.

Saturday - September 16, 2023

We left camp fairly early headed home. It was a nice travel day.  We spent the night at the Bismarck KOA in North Dakota.  We both took showers then watched the Razorback Football game.

Campsite at the Bismarck KOA

Sunday - September 17, 2023

We left the KOA early and headed to the Sioux Falls KOA in South Dakota.  It was another nice travel day. 

Monday - September 18, 2023

Before we left the KOA we dumped both tanks and flushed the black water tank.  We won't be using the RV any more until next spring.  We drove 7 hours to the Drury Inn in Independance, Missouri.  We like staying at a Drury Inn because they have free drinks, dinner, and breakfast.  Traffic in Kansas City was pretty heavy, but we managed it okay.  

Tuesday - September 19, 2023

Nothing much to write about this day.  We left the Drury Inn after breakfast and took I49 from Kansas City, Missouri until we reached the exit for Prairie Grove.  We made it home around 3:30 pm.  This was a shortened version of our trip, but we had fun anyway.