So far we've found it bittersweet to leave a place we've become familiar with, and head off to some new unknown. Perhaps that will be the case with every place we stay for more than a couple of nights. It's been one week now since we started out on this adventure, but it feels like a month!
This morning was spent doing all the closing up chores we SHOULD'VE done last night, like dishes, collecting trash, packing up Lily's ridiculous collection of stuffed animals that somehow appeared, and vacuuming the floors. Then just as you roll out of the park with a sigh of relief, you are reminded that you need to go dump the black and grey tanks in town, since it's October and the park dump station is off for the season. We're finally on our way to the next stop! First step after registering... fill our 46 gallon freshwater tank.
This will be our longest stay yet... 5 nights at Lake Sakakawea State Park, near Hazen, ND. There's the Garrison Dam, National Fish Hatchery, Fort Mandan, Lewis & Clark Historic Trail, Knife River Indian Villages, and a day of pending snow we figured we'd hunker down for. You could be praying that our trailer water pipes don't freeze! Our site is right along the edge of the lake, without much of a windbreak... pretty, but cold! Tonight I parked the truck next to us to act as a windbreak!
So what does it take to set up in a new campsite? All hands on deck...
Level from side to side (those Anderson Levels coming in handy again. Takes all of 30 seconds)...
Block the tires so you don't roll over the edge and into the lake...
Clear the tailgate...
Put the front stabilizer jacks down...
Tuck the emergency brake wire out of the way and open up the hitch...
Extend the front jacks until you've taken the weight of the trailer off the truck...
Unhook the truck to trailer electric cord and carefully drive the hitch out from the kingpin...
Level from back to front...
Plug trailer into 30amp power...
Lower rear stabilizing jacks...
X-chocks for front to back stabilization...
Additional stabilizers for side to side motion... overkill?... no. While writing this, the act of kids getting into bed is STILL felt. These things really do help.
Open up the bunkroom and couch/dinette slides, secure outdoor rug, block up the step, turn on the water pump, electric water heater, and furnace. Now to situate everything inside that had to be put up/away for the drive... DONE! 😅
We were really thankful for the sunshine, and explored the eroded shoreline just below our campsite... even Joe got to do a bit of off-leash running (sshh... don't tell the rangers!). There's no one else camping here, so we just walked back across the sites.
Lake Sakakawea is man-made, in relation to the Garrison Dam. Our campsite is up on that ridge to the right, about 20 yards back from the edge.
Scoria rocks are really layered, and break apart easily, making them fun to smash.
Makes for some interesting rock layers and signs of varying water levels.
Kate as Moses...
Petrified wood.
RoadSchool 2018
Lignite coal is mined in North Dakota...
... can be crushed easily...
... and was pretty deep in some spots along the beach!
Our trailer is at the end of Lily's finger.
Beach treasures!
So much mud, clay, and rocks!
An edged rock helped clean our shoes out.
~Nelina
Great documentation! Fun to go along with you again. Very Educational!
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ReplyDeleteI sure hope you are able to get back out this next year.
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