Granite Falls, Minnesota

Our week in South Dakota has ended, and we have crossed over into Minnesota! Still LOTS of corn, LOTS of soy beans, and flat, flat, flat...but beautiful. We have stopped at Granite Falls (yes, there is a falls here too...a bitty one) as it is midway between Sioux Falls and Minneapolis.

We are staying at the Prairie's Edge RV Park, which is adjacent to an Indian casino of the same name. The manager of the park, Sean, is a Native American, but with a strong Scandinavian/Minnesotan accent. Sean stopped by this afternoon to let us know we are under a tornado watch, and to point out the tornado shelter in the park. When we went over to check it out, the shelter was locked! But Sean told us he'd unlock it.

Later that afternoon, Jack decided to take the shuttle over to the casino and play some cards. While he was gone, the sky darkened and the winds came up. Stacy was all prepared with emergency supplies - water, snacks and Mandy - to quickly head to the shelter if the sirens blew. After a couple of hours, with the skies once again clear, Jack hopped off the shuttle from the casino...with not the faintest idea that the weather had briefly turned so bad. I guess they don't interrupt gamblers, no matter what!

Granite Falls is on the Minnesota River. It is a small town, but they have developed a nice river walk area, and, even more importantly, they have LEFSE.  Remember lefse? We had got some in Opheim, MT. It is a wonderful Norwegian potato flat bread that Jack has been yearning ever since we ran out. (Must be genetic. He IS Norse, after all.)

A weird thing we have discovered here in the midwest is PELICANS! They are huge! We first saw them in Great Falls, MT. Lewis and Clark mentioned them in their journal entrees. They are White Pelicans (not gray, like we are used to in California) and stay on rivers even when they migrate south during the winter.

Fresh water white pelicans in the Minnesota River

 Tomorrow we head to Minneapolis/St Paul.....