June 2023

Arlington, South Dakota.

Sometimes persistence pays off, and Google doesn’t know everything. In 2023, we traveled to our family reunion in Arlington, South Dakota. While there, we noticed a Veterans Memorial Park at the end of a small lake. Google Maps didn’t identify the lake, but there is a small island in the lake that Google Maps references as Nordland Isle. I found a reference to campgrounds in Arlington because, in some of the images, I noticed that there is a campground on the north side of the lake. I found this reference on the Camping web page here:

Nordland Park Campground

The campground is situated on the north side of Lake Arlington, accessible from Highways 14 and 81. It offers a scenic view of Lake Arlington and Nordland Isle.

The mystery was solved, and I now know the name of this small lake. At first, we were stopped by the gate blocking the bridge entrance from the lakeshore. Then I realized the gate didn’t have a lock on it—at least it didn’t when we crossed it. I suspect city officials can lock it when they want. I opened the gate and started across the bridge.

On the small island, a trail winds through several beautifully cared-for garden beds, likely maintained by city staff. I also noticed at least one lamp post on the island. We didn’t see whether the light was on at night, even though we were staying only about a block from the lake.

Behind this idyllic scene, a large evergreen tree blocks the view of one of the camping spots at Nordland Park Campground. When we first got to the island, a large camping trailer was parked there. If you look carefully in the background of the opening image, you can see a couple of campers in the campground across the lake.

The walk around the island was no more than a few minutes. The blue skies and fluffy clouds gave way to a thicker cloud layer that threatened to dampen our spirits. We didn’t cut our visit short, but we decided it might be a good idea to get off the island and hang around on the lake shore and at the nearby Veterans Memorial. Our car was parked nearby and would be a quick dash to get out of the rain if it started. I’ve posted these images on my Flickr site in 2K HD here for pixel-peepers who like to take a closer look at the details.

John Steiner