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Pelicans, Egrets, and Herons, Oh My!
Lake Vermillion State Recreation Area, SD, August 2025 We did not have a lot planned today. We thought we would sit out at the 261st Street dirt road to we could find some new birds, look for the Belted Kingfisher, and mail postcards in Canistosta, SD. The first activity was to go to Canistosta Post…
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Otter Stream Trail
Lake Vermillion State Recreation Area, SD, August 2025 In the morning, John has been walking the, roughly, one mile hike from the RV around the Otter Stream trail trying to get pictures of new things. Kate has been staying home for these treks because they are about 1/3rd walking and 2/3rds picture taking. Today was…
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One More Loop Around Maple Campground
Lake Vermillion State Recreation Area, SD, August 2025 John decided to walk the loop around our (Maple) campground on the Otter Stream trail early in the morning. If you consider 10 am early, then he succeeded. Otherwise, he was a bit late. The hope was that it would be cooler, less people around, and more…
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It’s a Blue Bird, not a Bluebird!
Lake Vermillion State Recreation Area, SD, August 2025 We planned to rent paddle boards to putter around the lake today. John had been planning to hike the Otter Stream trail with the tripod to try to get better pictures of some of the subjects from the last hike. Since it was still early, he decided…
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A Stroll Along Lake Vermillion
Lake Vermillion Recreation Area, SD, August 2025 The weather in South Dakota changes on a flip of a dime. Last night and this morning we were not supposed to have rain. Guess what? It rained. So, we had a wonderful breakfast while we waited for the weather to clear up. The weather started to clear…
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Exploring Lake Vermilion
Lake Vermilion State Recreation Area, SD, August 2025 Lake Vermillion is named after the Vermillion River. Vermillion is an alternate spelling of Vermilion, the reddish-orange color. The river gets its name from the seams of reddish-orange sandstone along the banks. People just lack imagination. At least, it is not the reddish-orange river. Yesterday, we had…
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Hike The Otter Stream Trail, Not This One
Lake Vermillion State Recreation Area, SD, July 2025 Lake Vermillion State Recreation Area has a figure 8 hiking trail in the western camping area that circles the Maple Campground and passes near Juniper and Oak Campground. The trail is flat smooth and wide. It appears to be a mowed path through the prairie about 4…