The Mid West Drought of 2012

Nowhere was the drought of 2012 more evident than on our drive through Nebraska and into Wyoming. For much of these 4 days we were off the interstates and travelling on lesser highways and byways through farm and ranching country. Where irrigation was in use there were patches of green, otherwise the fields were dried and brown. The impact of the drought was also reflected at our nightly camping spots. They were all centred on dammed man-made lakes that served as irrigation sources as well as recreation opportunities for the local area. Water levels were drastically down at all our campsites from Kansas through Wyoming. We found the park ranger at Johnson Lake SRA in Eastern Nebraska hauling a large drum of water behind his John Deere so he could water some of the young trees in park and hopefully save some of them. After Labour Day they were taking the lake down even further but at least when we were there it allowed a bit of a swim even if the water never got higher than my waist.

 At Lake Minatare SRA in Eastern Nebraska where the temperatures soared to 104F they had not had rain since before July and the camp host showed us the marks on the trees where the water had been at that time. Here the water levels were too low (and the mosquitoes too vicious) to even think about a swim. 

We had a short drive from Lake Minatare to our campsite at Glendo State Park in Wyoming so it allowed a detour to visit Fort Laramie National Historic Site just over the Nebraska/Wyoming border.

The Fort was originally built to support the fur trade but was soon bought by the Army to serve as a way station and supply depot for those on the Oregon Trail, the Mormon Trail to Salt Lake City, and in the 1860s as a place to negotiate with the Indian tribes. However, the gold rush to California and later the discovery of gold in the Black Hills (which had been ceded to the tribes as part of the treaty negotiations) resulted in some major battles between the settlers and tribes led by Red Cloud with the Infantry and Cavalry stationed at the Fort in an awkward position of defending the treaties. The Fort was decommissioned in the 1890’s as it no longer had a strategic purpose and many of the buildings removed but it was designated a national historic site in 1938 and work begun to restore it.
After our visit to Louisbourg it seemed a poor comparison, and given that it was stifling hot our visit was short and we were at our campsite at Glendo State Park shortly after noon. The park has over 300 campsites in 8 or 9 campgrounds but there were only about two other sites occupied in our campground, Two Moons, which has 81 sites and sits high above the reservoir providing a view of the dam and the low water levels here too.

This proved to be a very pleasant, quiet, respite despite a short shower in the evening just as we were starting dinner.
Leaving Glendo we had a drive through some very desolate looking territory, characterized by tumbling tumbleweed and long vistas of cattle country. We arrived at the slightly more populated (the long weekend was approaching) Boysen State Park further west in Wyoming. After some time trying to sort out which sites were available we settled into one right on the lakeshore with private access to the beach.

We enjoyed a beautiful sunset and listened to a neighbouring camper from the local area complain about how they had spent so much money fixing the place up and making all these rules like no camping on the beach just so the government could charge more money (our camping fee here was $17, state residents paid less). I don’t think he’ll be voting for Obama. This campsite won the distinction for the most bugs of the trip. As soon as the sun went down and the lights went on in the trailer these tiny noseeums that were too small to be blocked by the screens invaded and we had to resort to turning off the lights at 9:30. We woke in the morning to the walls and blinds coated in the little black devils. We discovered three more (less populated) campgrounds in this park as we made our way north-west. Don't know if they would have had the same bug issue.