A three-hour tour into unknown territory

The Ostgaard family has been venturing into previously unknown territory of late, heading west instead of east or south like we usually have for family trips. We're not talking about major miles to California where some family members reside or Seattle to see my brother. Heck, even Montana is out of our scope. This year's little western adventures took us merely two to three hours away from home for a wedding and visiting the happy couple and family afterwards.
   

Three hours isn't really all that far when you think of it. Last summer's one-day jaunts transporting our daughter to and from camp at the International Peace Garden took another hour or so longer, and the Jeep also got a good workout jutting around the northwestern quarter of Minnesota for soccer. The miles we put on last summer, without even staying anywhere overnight, probably could have taken us to Arizona and back.
   

Three hours is far enough, though, to view a whole different set of scenery. Drive three miles away from Crookston in any direction and this will happen. To the east there are lots of forests, to the south rolling hills, and to the north even more flatness. And to the west, the Devil's Lake (N.D.) area – the whole lake, not just the city – is really wet, with lots of water.
   

Lots of water is truly an understatement. Although we'd seen dozens of TV news reports about the lake, complete with graphic footage, and read about it in newspapers, the magnitude of Devil's Lake's problems with water inundation didn't really sink in with us until we saw it for ourselves. Driving along Highway 2, it was evident that the lake's waters had oozed out of its previous banks and was treacherously close to the road. Rock borders along the shores attempt to keep the water at bay.   
    

The view from Highway 2 barely touches the surface of the Devil's Lake story, though, as we found out this weekend when traveling southwest of Devil's Lake (the city) to Maddock, some 45 minutes away. Taking different scenic routes on the way there and back, we drove around and through much of the lake and probably got to see most of the lake's shoreline in the process.
   

“Wow” was all I could muster out of my mouth during these drives. From rows of dead and still living trees standing in water, some of them thousands of feet from the current shoreline, we could surmise where shorelines once were. Where the live trees sit represents the line of newer water inundations, while the dead trees were likely swamped a few years earlier. I contemplated picking up a few branches from the piles of driftwood that sat on the shores but didn't know if this was legal, so thought better of it.
   

Some roads looked like they could be a little scary at times, with water mere inches from our vehicle, complete with signs saying “Watch for Water over the Road.” One road, or what used to be one, to our right was barricaded and totally covered. The only way you could tell there was, in fact, a road there was from speed limit and other signs peeking out of the water and the ripple line created by the road's path. If not for these indicators, it appeared as though the lake naturally flowed to a shoreline extending for several hundred feet beyond that former road.
   

My friend, who grew up in the area, lived away for a number of years and ended up back there, told us that when she was young, the lake was about six miles away from her hometown. The town now sits on the lake shore. She also said Sullys Hill National Game Preserve, a popular recreational spot in the area, is half the size it used to be. She's seen many homes and land disappear into the water over the years.
   

I feel sorry for those living in the line of fire, but also know this is the risk they take by living near the water, especially an area like Devil's Lake where the up and down flow is so volatile. There are people who, when they moved into their homes, were not in the line of fire but are now. They need help, but where does the money come from? The government certainly doesn't have tons of funds available to buy out all these homes and build and maintain flood prevention projects. 
   

I'm no water expert, but I do know that outlets are usually the way to stave off flooding from lakes, which is different than river flooding. I also know that homes on lakes tend to be valued higher than homes on rivers, although that might not be the case with such unstable areas as the Devil's Lake Basin.
  

In talking with several Crookstonite friends, I never realized just how tied to Minnesota they all are. While they'd traveled significantly within our own state, none was familiar with the Devil's Lake area. In fact, most had been no further west than Grand Forks. They seem to think of North Dakota as a “ghost state” without giving much thought to its recreational aspects, which it does have.
   

Although I enjoyed the scenery very much and look forward to visiting again soon, I'm glad to live where I do. So, where should we go four our next three-hour tour?