Day 6 - Sioux Falls SD - 1304 Miles

Low 50's. High Winds. Rain. What the Hell was I thinking.

While heading north out of Kansas City, we made a brief side trip across the Missouri River just so we could say we visited Nebraska. The highlight as far as photo ops go was an abandoned side-wheeler dredge that helped turn the "Wide Missouri" of song into its current configuration.

Several locals came down to the river to see what all the rain had done to the water level. One in particular, upon realizing we were not from the area, felt obligated to perform a memory dump on us. We learned of local murders and suicides, his army career, his second career as a gold miner in South Dakota, his current career as a farmer, the circumstances of the deaths of friends and family, why he pays no property taxes, river history, and a complete calendar of upcoming local events.

It's not that he was uninteresting, but eventually the time came where Terry had to pee and my flat feet were beginning to ache. In fact he was exactly the kind of person I love to have sit on the bar stool next to me. He can talk incessantly and all that is required of me to feign human interaction is an occasional nod or smile. It beats being the guy alone staring at his reflection in the mirror behind the bar.

Sioux Falls. Whether you're looking at the water or the city behind it, you're looking at Sioux Falls. Though much smaller than Garland TX or about the same size as Youngstown OH in its heyday, it's the largest city in South Dakota. I saw a billboard on the way in advertising the largest buffet in the state. It was very tempting to try the largest buffet in the largest city in South Dakota, but I resisted. The city was generally unremarkable. While that would disappoint most people, it is exactly what I look for in a vacation spot.

While here we made a trip into Pipestone County, Minnesota to the town of Pipestone to go to Pipestone National Monument. Indians have worked this site continuously for several hundred years. Here's a pop quiz. I bet you can figure it out. What material did the Indians seek and what did the make out of it? Our main objective was acquiring an annual pass for the National Park System. I tried explaining to the ranger I was within six months of being old enough to get my $10 lifetime pass so I shouldn't have to pay $80 for an annual pass. She said the problem was if I was asked for an ID somewhere they would see I wasn't old enough and it would come back to her. I had to acknowledge I would throw her under the bus in a heartbeat to save myself, so I went ahead and paid the $80.

The site actually turned out to be much more interesting than I expected. The Indians dug quarrys through 12-14 feet of Sioux Quartzite to get to about one foot of the pipestone they wanted. The red pipestone was prized for its deep red color that had great significance I'm sure was explained somewhere but it escapes me now.

Quarry Walls

Active Quarry with Pipestone in the Center

Pipestone at the Bottom of Quarry

Indians still quarry the pipestone and carve it into pipes and other objects. I was going to get a pipe but being cheap I bought a small carved turtle instead. To the Sioux, the turtle is a symbol of fertility and long life. I hope I got a "long life" turtle.