Today was our longest day of driving. We went from Chicago to Sioux Falls – quite a difference in terms of city size! There was a lot of this…
Also, Illinois toll is interesting in that they charge $1.50 every so often…so have some change ready! Along the way, we passed through Wisconsin and Minnesota. Both were beautiful and green, with lots of interesting clouds. And also lots of wind turbines!
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We finally arrived in Sioux Falls, and went to Falls Park to see the namesake falls. The park is very well-maintained and is nice to walk around, especially since it is a little bit cooler around the water. We were able to capture some of the orange-y colors during sunset on the red-pink quartzite. In terms of history, these falls were the site of a former mill (Queen Bee Mill House – 3rd picture), and the second picture shows the old water pipeline to the turbine and mill. The height differential allowed for more potential energy to be harnessed.
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We then decided to explore some of downtown Sioux Falls.
Some observations from our short stay in Sioux Falls – there are lots of motorcycles and loud cars, and the night life seems to be a pretty big thing on their main street. It seemed like there were more bars than restaurants, but Jo still managed to find something to satisfy her craving for something “light,” even if that meant going to a Japanese restaurant in the middle of land-locked America. (In her defense, we have been eating lots of heavy food and I think the deep-dish pizza may have been a bit too cheesy for our lactose-intolerant friend). There are also lots of statues and sculptures, including a very cute Ralph the Moose and a dog licking a child.
Trip Counter:
Trip Counter
– Caffeine Count: 14
– Toll: $36.35
– Tank: 3
– States – NY, NJ, MA, Ontario, MI, IN, IL, WI, MN, SD
Puppy count was low today given the amount of driving – we only came in at 10. But we got to play with this guy at a rest stop. He’s a border collie/german shepherd mix, from an Amish family.
