Wednesday, 12 June
Lisbon
We started the morning with laundry before moving to a new campground. After showers, we headed to Lisbon to visit the Laundry Lounge. Though small, the laundromat had modern washers and dryers, and we were lucky to have the place to ourselves.
Graham’s Island State Park
Around noon, we began our drive to Graham’s Island State Park, mainly following flat, two-lane roads. As we neared Devils Lake, poor gas mileage led us to stop for fuel in Lakota.
Graham’s Island State Park is heavily wooded and surrounded by Devils Lake’s shoreline. The park features multiple campgrounds, and we set up at site 133 in the Howard Campground. Most sites were pull-throughs with shade, though many were sloped or uneven. Ours was a sunny back-in site, but it was level. Behind the site, a mowed area included a fire pit and a weathered wooden picnic table. As it was a “modern” campsite, we had access to electricity and water.
After setting up, we drove around the park, stopping at the visitor center stocked with fishing gear and a large lake map but lacked information on the area’s natural or historical features. This indicated to us that the park is geared toward anglers.
We then explored the park further, enjoying the views of the lake and checking out the beach, where families were swimming in the rocky sand. Many boat trailers were parked near the boat ramp, and many people were fishing from a floating dock. Surprisingly, the park was quite busy for a mid-week day.
We decided to relax back at the camper for the evening.
Devil’s Lake
Devil’s Lake, the second-largest in North Dakota, is renowned for world-class fishing, particularly for pike, walleye, and yellow perch. Many campers had fishing boats, and the park provided ample resources for anglers, including a bait shop, boat ramp, gas pump, and a fish cleaning station. Upon arrival, we saw numerous people cleaning their catch at the station.
The lake’s name has two possible origins: one theory is that European traders misinterpreted the Native American name “Spirit Lake” as a place inhabited by evil spirits. Another explanation is that settlers found the water undrinkable due to its high salt content.
Since 1993, the area has experienced significant flooding, affecting hundreds of thousands of acres. In response, roads and dikes are being raised, and controversial government projects have aimed to release the lake’s water into the Sheyenne River.
Thursday, 13 June
Sivert Thompson Loop
We hiked the 1.6-mile Sivert Thompson Loop in the morning. The trail started near our campsite, which made it convenient. While we expected to get closer to the lake, the trail took us through ash and oak woodlands, offering only distant views of the water. The easy, scenic path was well-maintained, making for a pleasant walk.
Afterward, we took showers and prepared for the day’s sightseeing.
White Horse Hill National Game Preserve
Our first stop was the White Horse Hill National Game Preserve, located on the other side of Devils Lake. Along the way, we passed several recently raised roads and the Spirit Lake Resort and Casino.
Initially established in 1904 by Theodore Roosevelt as Sully’s Hill National Park, the preserve’s designation as a “national park” was not yet standardized. The park was named after General Alfred Sully, infamous for his role in the massacre of Dakota people, particularly at the Battle of Whitestone Hill. In 1931, the park was transferred to the Fish and Wildlife Service and re-designated as a wildlife preserve. In December 2019, through an act of Congress, the park was renamed to its traditional Dakota name, White Horse Hill.
The preserve spans 1,674 acres, with a landscape that blends mixed-grass prairies, marshes, and wooded hills. It is home to a small herd of bison, elk, whitetail deer, and a colony of prairie dogs. While driving along the auto tour route, we saw a dozen bison grazing and many prairie dogs scurrying about. Unfortunately, we didn’t spot any elk or deer. Near the bison, an observation platform perched atop White Horse Hill beckoned, offering sweeping views of the surrounding countryside. I took the opportunity to climb the 193 steps to the top, where I was rewarded with breathtaking vistas of the rolling hills and expansive prairies below.
Fort Totten State Historic Site
Located within the Spirit Lake Reservation, which includes the Sisseton, Wahpeton, and Cut-Head bands of Yanktonais, Fort Totten was used from 1867 to 1890 to enforce peace among local Native American tribes displaced during the Dakota War of 1862. After the fort’s closure, it operated as the Fort Totten Indian Industrial School from 1890 until 1935, managed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and run by the Grey Nuns of Montreal. The school provided a controversial education focused on vocational training, including seamstressing, harness making, shoemaking, baking, farming, dairying, printing, and carpentry. From 1935 to 1939, the fort was used as a Tuberculosis Preventorium due to the widespread outbreak on the reservation. It became a community school in 1940, continuing under the Bureau of Indian Affairs until a new community school and college were established in 1959. The fort was designated as a state historic site in 1960 and gifted to North Dakota.
Today, sixteen original structures from the military era remain on the site. The entrance is through a small pedestrian gate in a barbed-wire chain-link fence surrounding the fort. After entering, we followed a sign to the interpretive center, where we purchased tickets. Though no one seemed to be monitoring access, we explored the fort’s grounds, walking along a wooden boardwalk that connected the historic brick buildings around an open field. Each building is labeled with its historical use, either military or as part of the boarding school. Some buildings feature artifacts and exhibits about the fort’s history, while others focus on the boarding school era. There are also displays about the Odd Fellows and Rebekahs, who maintained a lodge here, the Little Theater, which hosted community plays before flooding forced its relocation to Devils Lake, and local historical artifacts curated by the Lake Region Pioneer Daughters. The Captain’s and 1st Lieutenant’s Quarters, which later served as employee housing, have been converted into a Historic Inn where visitors can stay overnight.
While the exhibits on the boarding school era did not address the controversies or atrocities associated with it, we did watch a documentary that highlighted the violent history of the region. It detailed the repeated violations of treaties and the brutal massacres committed by the U.S. military and settlers against the Native American tribes during the westward expansion.
Geographical Center of North America
After finishing our fort tour, we had lunch in the truck and headed to Rugby to visit the geographical center of North America. In 1928, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) designated a point 15 miles southwest of Rugby as the center of the continent. To commemorate this, the people of Rugby erected a 15-foot obelisk made from local stone in 1931.
The obelisk was located in the parking lot of a Mexican restaurant, where we stopped to take a few pictures. However, there wasn’t much else to see or do at the site. We then drove to the nearby Frontier Village, which houses a collection of historic buildings, but decided not to linger and moved on.
Black Paws Brewery
Next, we drove to Black Paws Brewery in Devils Lake. The brewery featured a spacious bar area with a small production space. When we arrived, there were about a dozen people there. The friendly waitress welcomed us. After browsing the beer selection, we opted to skip our usual flight and enjoy a pint of Newf Drool, an English Brown Ale.
The brewery’s name comes from the owner’s large black Newfoundland dog. While waiting for our drinks, the owner walked through the bar with his dog, who was playfully trying to chew on my shoelaces. The owner shared that this was his fourteenth Newfoundland, and he trained them as search-and-rescue dogs. At nine months old, this dog was already as tall as my waist.
We ordered a basket of fried avocados and, taking advantage of happy hour prices and my military discount, added a pound of chicken nuggets to return to the camper. We also used the free Wi-Fi to download some Netflix shows to my phone.
Back at the camper, we settled in and watched the newly released season of Bridgerton on Netflix.
Friday, 14 June
Lake Sakakawea State Park
We packed up our camper and headed north to Lake Sakakawea State Park. On our way out, we saw at least 40+ empty boat trailers at the boat launch. We guessed that there would be over a hundred by that evening.