Exploring

Since there isn't much to do up here until I get a job, I spent some time today exploring again. This time I scoured the other side of the park, walking along the lake beach and just checking everything out. There was a lot to see!

I did another composite image of the lake, but it is a little decieving. When I took the pictures I was standing on a penninsula, and had to turn in about 3/4ths of a circle to get all of the water. However, when I placed the images in a line the penninsula ended up looking more like a solid bank, when in fact it stretched back behind me and not out to my sides. Anyway, this is the best I could do; there are parts where you can't even see the other side of the lake so at least you get some idea of what it is like. Here is a bigger image: http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/4080/lakecomposite.jpg

Apparently Lake Sakakawea (which is the lake I'm living on) is the third largest man-made lake in the U.S., and it has a small population of a prehistoric fish called Paddlefish living in it. I doubt I'll ever catch one, but other people have, and this is what it looks like:

Even though I didn't see any fish like those today, I did see a lot of other animals. I first saw a deer, and then a bunch of ducks, some grouse and even a couple geese. Basically, everything I wish I would see while I was hunting. ;D There were also a huge amount of bugs, so many that they made a loud buzzing sound when I was walking near them. Mosquito season is not something I'm looking forward to this year, I'll tell you that much.

The funniest animal I saw was this strange little beach bird. It had sharp wings and spindily little legs, and it obviously knew I was there because it kept peeping like crazy and running away from me. Though, if it was trying to escape it wasn't doing a very good job. Every time I moved toward it is ran away, and every time I stopped moving it stopped too. I followed it down the beach for at least 15 minutes, until it finally took off and flew behind me. Unfortunately, the only image I was able to get of it was the one below; it's not that good but at least I got something!

After walking for a while I realized that there was a lot of driftwood that was on the beach! For a state that is severely lacking in trees, there were huge amounts of dried wood littered all over the place. There were even a few trees that had fallen and drifted over, and some petrified wood I picked up too. I can't think of a Minnesota beach I've seen with this much wood on it... it seems kind of wrong that this lake had so much of it. :o

And I'm not really sure what this is. It was sitting up on a pile of rocks, and there appears to be some wires running to a light on the top. Maybe a ghetto light house? I don't know.

Finally, after a good hour and a half or so, I decided it was time for me to head back to the trailer. I worked my way around some rocks and then was moving through a grassy area, when suddenly, about a foot in front of me, a grouse jumps up out of the weeds and scares the crap out of me! I almost passed right by, but then I leaned down to look where it had jumped out of, and what do I see? A nest full of eggs! There had to be at least 12 of them in there, all sort of small and greenish-blue colored. It was definitely a cool way to end my little adventure; I'm going to be checking back on the nest as the weeks go on I think.

So now I think I've sufficiently explored everything nearby! This should be my last big picture post for a while, unless I see something else really cool of course. Now you are all as familiar with where I am living as I am! There should be some more normal posts coming up, like further installments in Adventures in D&D and such. So far I've submitted applications for Walmart and a convenience store, and I'll probably submit more tomorrow, so I'll let you all know how that goes. Thanks for reading, it makes me feel like people care! :D