Junior Duck Stamps

When we toured the Audubon National Wildlife Refuge they had a display of Junior Duck Stamp winners.  Its hard to believe that these were done by kids.  They were all so well done but of course they were only displaying the winners.  We worked on the Junior Duck Stamp competition when we were at the wildlife refuge in Yuma.  It makes a lot more sense to see duck paintings in North Dakota where the ducks are much more plentiful. 

The fishing has picked up here and most people are bringing in fish.  I caught a nice walleye last time we were out but all Jim was getting were missed bites.   The campground is full every weekend and all the condos and cabins are always booked up so its a busy place. 

We got confirmation on having a job this winter back in Yuma.  The resort is brand new -- opening in November.  Its called Carefree RV Village.  From the website it looks like its going to be nice.  They must have gotten the pictures of the amenities from other places because its not even built yet. 

Falkirk Coal Mine

Hard to believe that North Dakota has coal mining.  The coal found here is lignite coal.  Its got a low sulphur content so its good for burning in power plants that generate electricity.  The Falkirk Mine is fairly new although it is mining on some ground that was mined in the past.  Its pretty much flat open prairie in the area.   They dig down to the coal moving tons of earth.  You can see the big strip of black on the side of the hill -- that's the coal.  We took a tour through the mine -- you just ride in a van and the driver tells you what's going on around you.  Its just big open pits -- the original mining that took place was in underground mines.  The pits like to fill up with water so they are constantly pumping them out.

They load the big haulers with the coal and then haul it over to the power plant.  The haulers were huge and each one hold 200 tons of coal.  When they get to the power plant the belly of the hauler opens and the coal all dumps out in about 20 seconds  -amazing.   The power plant that's burning all this coal actually is generating electricity that goes to two thirds of rural Minnesota. 

Garrison Dam National Fish Hatchery

We toured the fish hatchery by the Garrison Dam.  It is one of the largest in the country.  The hatchery supplies fish for stocking lakes throughout the Midwest.  One tank had Pallid Sturgeon in it that were at least 6 feet long.  They were big enough to put a saddle on and ride.  They are native to the Missouri River and are endangered.  The hatchery captures wild sturgeon in the fall and spring.  The fish in these tanks are held until June when its time for them to spawn.  The young they produce are held for a year and then stocked back into the wild.

There were a whole bunch of cement tanks that were filled with baby trout.  There are automatic feeders hanging over them -- as shown in the picture.  A small trout was caught on the wire that is part of the feeder and Jim is trying to unhook it and save it.  Jim was afraid of hurting the fish so he gave up trying.  Just then one of the US Fish and Wildlife employees came through and he was able to unhook the fish.  He said it happens every once in a while.  When the fish tap on the wire it releases the food into the water and sometimes the fish get too excited trying to get the food and get stuck on the wire.