Sioux Falls, South Dakota

It's been a couple of days since we've blogged because we have not had access to WiFi. So here's a quick update...

We stayed Saturday night in Chamberlain, South Dakota in a beautiful campground right on the East bank of the Missouri River. We rode our bikes around the entire town (took about 40 minutes).  A couple of women were fishing on the pier, catching Channel Catfish and Walleye. They were keeping these fish, saying Walleye is the best fish on earth. They were planning to "fry 'em up" for dinner. They also were catching some fish called Snapjack and Drum, which they were throwing back because "they are all bones".

They told us to go to Charlie's Restaurant "at the top of the hill" for the best Walleye in the area.  We did.  Jack ordered fried, and I ordered grilled. I guess we're spoiled by salmon and all the fresh fish we get in the Northwest. We are both glad we tried walleye, but won't be ordering it again.

The fishing pier 

The wide Missouri

Our camp site

We arrived in Sioux Falls on Sunday afternoon, after a REALLY windy drive across the prairie. Fighting a stiff headwind, we got 8 mpg. It is beautifully flat here, one can see forever. Very few trees, except where a creek runs through the landscape.

On the way, we stopped in Mitchell, SD to see the world famous Corn Palace. This is a building that every year is decorated with murals made entirely of corn. Corn silks, corn husks, corn cobs...you name it. It sounds "corny" but it actually was sort of cool.

Had to do it!!!

The Big Sioux River runs right through the middle of Sioux Falls, and a wondrous cascade through quartzite rock shelves make up the falls. The city has developed a lovely park around the falls, with walking paths and observation areas. Downtown was deserted on Sunday afternoon, but we strolled around and looked at buildings (made of quartzite!) from the mid-1800's.

Quartzite rock...really beautiful.

Sioux Falls

Another view of the falls

Being RV novices and not knowing quite what to expect on the road, we planned out our first month and made reservations at the various campgrounds along the way before we ever left Portland. The positive side was that we knew we'd have places to stay. The negative was that we were on a schedule and had to be certain places at certain times. We have decided to spend the next month doing little bits at a time. That way, if we really want to spend more time someplace, we can.  Every place we've been (except Leavenworth, WA over July 4th) has had spaces open throughout our stay, so....stay tuned.

Tomorrow we head off to Granite Falls, Minnesota, on our way to the Minneapolis/St Paul area.

Later!