The Bois de Sioux

June 11 – We are on the Bois de Sioux River, somewhere south of Wahpeton. We are camping in North Dakota, and I’m so excited about that! However, the river banks have become very muddy because the flood waters are receding a bit. Whenever we try to get out of the canoe we sink in mud and slip and slide, sometimes ending in the water. The water quality itself has deteriorated from relatively clear and clean in Mud Lake to opaque tonight.
The wildlife today has been amazing. We have seen actual swarms of bald eagles, mallards, wood ducks, pelicans, cormorants, and Canadian geese. We portaged around the White Rock Dam and found dozens of pelicans on the other side. We chased them down the river for miles. At one point there was a pair of Canadian geese with six little goslings swimming in front of us. As usual, the parents tried to lead us astray. Finally we were past the goslings and one of the parents started flapping up the river, but he lost dozens of big pin feathers in the process. After that he couldn’t get airborne.