Big Bend Dam- Lake Sharpe Fort Thompson, SD

Our time was up in Rapid City and we needed to move on down the road.  We stopped at FlyingJ and filled the motorhome fuel tank along with the Honda's.  Easy in and out at the RV pump so that was a plus.  Then it was on to the Cabella's store a short distance away to empty our black & grey water tanks since the Elks Lodge didn't have a dump station.  The price was right at Cabella's as they provide rv space and a dump for free.  

We had a nice drive to Ft Thompson, SD where we stopped for two nights at the Big Bend Dam COE park.  They only had electric at the campsite and water spigots in a couple places in the park.  I thought I had enough fresh water in our tank, but when I went to use water, the tank was empty.  I had left a water line open and I was leaking water all the way from Rapid City. 

Big Bend Dam on the Missouri River

The COE campground is large with over 100 sites which are mostly pull throughs and are quite large.  We had more than enough room for the motorhome and car in the site on an asphalt driveway.

Our MH is in the middle with the dark front end.

It was a little confusing trying to enter the campground due to a very sharp curve that I couldn't make.  Luckily, there was a small turnout nearby and I went through it in order to get a straight shot into the road to the campground.

A Park Ranger waited for us to get turned around and lead us into the camping area.  The first thing I noticed was large tree branches that were split away from the trees and what looked like numerous trees that had been blown down.  After we were setup the ranger came by to  chat with us.  He said about 3 weeks ago they had 100+ mph winds come through the area and demolished the trees and damaged many camping units.  One woman was taken to the hospital.  The small town of Ft Thompson also was hit hard and many housing units were damaged or destroyed.

Campground across from the small harbor.

View of the dam.

 We had a relaxing two nights at the campground and appreciated the camp fee of $9.00/night with the Golden Age pass.  Most of the campers there had fishing boats, pontoon boats and other watercraft to play with while they were there.  They were all friendly and had a big wave for us as they passed by.  

It was a great stop and we recharged our internal batteries after all the running around in the Rapid City area.  There wasn't a single tourist spot anywhere near the campground and very few stores in Ft. Thompson.  No place to shop or spend our money.  Most of the surrounding area is Indian Reservation and there was one casino.

That was our couple days at the COE campground.  How was your day?