Lemmon, South Dakota

 I am visiting with my cousin and his wife who moved here from Oregon last spring. It is a small town with a population of 1100. This area has many fossils and petrified wood. So much wood that they created a park full on it!

They have various sized pieces with the larger logs just stood on end like to the right of the sign. Smaller pieces they used to build petrified spires.

They built the museum out of petrified wood as well.

I am debating where to travel from here. Maybe Arizona or back to Oregon.

Fort Peck, Montana

 I am currently staying at the Downstream Campground near Fort Peck, Montana. The campground lies alongside the Missouri River and just below Fort Peck dam. I have never been in this part of Montana and have never seen the Missouri River except from a plane seat while flying over the state! This is an Army Corp of Engineers campground so I get my federal senior discount. Only  $12.50 a day for an electric hookup site. They have potable water spigots scattered thru out the camp with flush toilets and free showers for campers! The sites are well spaced with lots of mature trees!

As you can see, it emptied out after Labor Day! There are play areas for the children and miles of paved hiking trails winding thru fishing ponds and along the river.

Today is the clearest day I've seen in a while. The wind changed and is blowing the Canadian forest fire smoke out of the area. The Fort Peck dam in huge!

If you look closely at the above picture you can see a semi truck and trailer on top of the dam to the right of the trees. The dam is about 21,026 feet long and 250 feet tall. Below are the power house buildings that hold the turbines that generate electricity. I could not find the height of the towers listed anywhere but if the dam is 250 ft high I would guess the towers are 400-500 ft. 

 If you are wondering why I am in this area, it is to see bird species I have never seen. Not only are there resident birds I want to see but it is the start of the southern migration so hopefully I will see some of those. Among the birds I hoped to see was the Blue Jay. I know people in Oregon call our Stellar Jays blue jays and they are blue but the official blue jay looks like the one below!

It is a beautiful bird even though it is not all blue like the Stellar. I have been here 2 days and added 5 new species to my life list. I hope to add more as the days go by.

Kiwanis Rest Area and Campground

 I am in Lewiston, Montana about 1/2 way between Billings and Canada. This rest area is maintained by the Kiwanis and they allow free camping but do encourage a donation.

They have potable water, restrooms and covered picnic tables. It is between the highway and an airport but is not very noisy. Across the highway is a grocery store with a fuel station just down the road. I am just here one night then on to the Fort Peck area where I hope to catch the southern migration. They have already reported a few!