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Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Sioux Falls

At the end of September, Doug and I set off on a three-week vacation that we dubbed our "Last Hurrah" trip. Lengthy road trips are getting harder for us, so we decided we'd head west one more time, to revisit some of our favorite places and see a few new ones, before giving up those long trips that we've been privileged to enjoy for so many years.

The timing of the Last Hurrah trip, while late in the season, was determined by a conference that we wanted to attend in the Minneapolis area on September 29. Once we'd traveled that far, it just made sense to keep on going westward. But we knew we were likely to run into some cold and snow on our route. The high winds and low temperatures in Minneapolis set the tone for much of what we would encounter in the days ahead.

Leaving Minneapolis on September 30th, our first destination was Falls Park in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, featuring the Falls of the Big Sioux River. We'd visited this park once before, in 2012, and wanted to see it again. It was very warm when we stopped there in 2012; but it was very cold when we stopped this time.






And, lastly, a very short video clip of the falls:



Falls Park is a beautiful place; but the cold temperatures and the miles yet to travel to that night's lodging in Mitchell, South Dakota caused us to cut this visit a little short.


14 comments:

  1. The predominant reddish color of the rocks makes the park a special place.
    Great pictures!

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    1. Thank you, Duta. It's hard to capture the beauty of this place in photographs. The whole area is full of falls and cascades and, yes, red rocks.

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  2. Betsy and I visited Falls Park in early September of this year. We thoroughly enjoyed the park, and we, too, had to get to Mitchell to spend the night.

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    1. I knew that you two had included Falls Park in your travels this year, George. It's an amazing place, isn't it? After our stay in Mitchell that night, we spent some time in the Badlands the next day. That will be my next post.

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  3. I'm so glad that you and Doug took that Last Hurrah trip. The falls are just beautiful...I so enjoyed viewing the video clip.

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    1. It was not the best time to go on this trip, Dianna, what with the purchase of a new house and the need to get the old house ready to sell; but the plans and reservations had already been made. So we went ahead with it. We were glad we did. The break from the busyness was good for us. And we had a wonderful time.

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  4. Used to take my slide film to get developed there. I worked over at Lake Okibodji at Lakeside Labs

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    1. You live in a pretty part of the country, Steve. Falls Park is very impressive.

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  5. That looks like a fascinating place to visit.

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  6. I've enjoyed seeing the falls through your photos, Linda, they must look impressive at the spot. I love the red stones and how structured they are!

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    1. Thank you, Petra. The red rocks do enhance the overall beauty of the place.

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