A Chinese ring-necked pheasant in flight above the Mount Rushmore National Monument, featuring the faces of four American Presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln, bookended by heads of wheat: does that say South Dakota? Sure, it works for me and obviously for the U.S. Mint. The South Dakota Division of Wildlife reported all time high pheasant counts for 2007, mainly due to ample habitat from CRP lands. SD is a pheasant hunter’s mecca with several outfitters offering trips, resulting in a huge source of revenue for the state. We drove through miles and miles of country road in the eastern part of the state and were disappointed that we never saw a pheasant. Perhaps the area was too cultivated? It was beautiful nonetheless.
The home of Sparky Anderson, Tom Brokaw and Crazy Horse; South Dakota was the highlight of a road trip I took with my sister in several years ago. We drove east to west on I 90 and after visiting the Corn Palace, Wall Drug and driving through the Badlands, stayed in the worst hotel I’ve ever encountered. It was an experience that somehow enhanced the trip as only extreme hardship can. After no sleep and afraid to shower lest we catch something from the grimy walls we started the next day predawn and arrived at Mt. Rushmore to see the faces emerge from early morning mists. It was one of the most beautiful sights I ever experienced. On the western side of the state Gutzon Borglum began drilling into Mount Rushmore, the 5,725-foot peak rising above Harney National Forest, in 1927. Creation of the "Shrine of Democracy" took 14 years and cost approximately $1 million, though it is now deemed priceless. It’s a landmark recognized around the world that was started as a draw to attract sightseers. Talk about a job well done. We then visited the Crazy Horse monument and drove down into the Pine Ridge reservation. Overwhelmed by history, emotion, kitsch and natural wonders on that trip, I was disappointed that I would only venture across the eastern plains this time around but contented myself with the knowledge that it would be one more state for the year.
Immediately after crossing the state line from Nebraska on I 29 billboards advertising the National Music Museum in Vermillion sprang up on the roadside. A quick cross reference of the map and the AAA book (a terrific resource) persuaded us to make to 20 mile detour to the home of University of South Dakota. The National Music Museum was terrific! They claim a collection of over 13,500 features instruments from all cultures and historic periods. Not too shabby! I especially enjoyed the exhibits from the early 1900’s and wanted to love the third world instrument gallery but became frustrated by the labels. There were numbers cataloging each item but corresponding identification sheets only encompassed half of the numbers. They just had too much in that room and every time I wanted to know more I was stymied.
Just six miles north of town is Spirit Mound Historic Prairie, a hill rising only 100 feet above the surrounding prairie but offering sweeping views of the area (get the flat picture?). Once again Lewis and Clark became a part of my travels. On August 25, 1805, Lewis & Clark took eleven men and Lewis’ dog Seaman to explore the mound. Their expedition was making its way up the Missouri River which runs at this point east to west across the now Nebraska / South Dakota state line. They had a difficult hike in the heat and humidity and Seaman had to be sent back to the river (Seaman was a Newfoundland that Lewis purchased for $20 in 1803. He is mentioned several times in the journals and accompanied them on the entire expedition.) We were much more comfortable: while the day was quite sultry, a stiff, refreshing breeze (note my hair in the picture) kept the bugs down and us refreshed. While wandering through prairie grasses reaching over my head I couldn’t help remembering having read that there is only one poisonous snake native to South Dakota: the prairie rattlesnake. Now, I’m not sure how this statistic relates to other states: is this high or low? Are prairie rattlesnakes rampant? How big of a threat is it? Should I be concerned or amused? Just random paranoia… we emerged back at the car unscathed. Clark wrote: “from the top of this mound we beheld a most butifull landscape; Numerous herds of buffalow were seen feeding in various directions….” I can report no buffalo, no snakes and few bugs but the Park Service did an impressive job with multiple interpretive signs identifying the prairie grasses. I would recommend this site to anyone but big, shaggy dogs.
The South Dakota Lewis & Clark Trail is choc-a-bloc full of interesting sites and activities. One could easily fill a two week vacation traveling the Missouri River via water or land and follow in their footsteps. Maybe someday…
Breaking away from the all things Lewis & Clark we opted to avoid the interstate we made our way via country roads to Sioux Falls for the night. Our dinner destination, the Tea Steak House, was 5 miles south. Road Food refers to it as “one of the top beef dens of the great plains” and we weren’t disappointed. Their slogan is “Bring Your Sugar to Tea”. Sweet!
We were one of the few automobiles in our hotel parking lot but had trouble locating a place to park. I hadn’t realized that the immense Sturgis Motorcycle Rally was taking place this week, but should have taken a clue from the hundreds of bikes in the area. Our fellow travelers were obviously having a terrific time and displaying camaraderie and good cheer.
Downtown Sioux Falls was a pleasant surprise. Wanting to view Falls Park, we detoured through downtown on our Sunday Morning departure. We passed the Old Courthouse, a sturdy 1800’s quartzite building anchoring the town. http://www.siouxlandmuseums.com/ I was very impressed with the Sioux Falls Sculpture Walk. This annual event consists of 50 or more sculptures displayed along the cute downtown Phillips Avenue. The artists lend their work the city for the season and all pieces are for sale. Every year a “People’s Choice” is elected for the city to purchase. The museum-quality artwork is varied and I was thrilled to be able to admire it while strolling through town. They’ve got a great photo tour that you can view via the link above. We walked along the namesake tiered waterfalls in Falls Park and went up the 5-story tower at the visitor center for a better vantage. They have a nightly lightshow in the summer and performances of a Shakespeare play for a few weekends in addition to the Falls Overlook Café and Horse Barn Arts Center. The 42 acre park is a beautiful setting for all sorts of cultural events.
I selected two Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books: Little House on the Prairie and The Long Winter for my South Dakota reads. Ingalls Wilder’s Little House series is autobiographical children’s fiction which recounts her early life with her family. Little House on the Prairie is about their move in covered wagon to what is now Kansas and efforts to settle there. I read this book for SD because so many of the experiences & activities detailed took place anywhere on the prairie. The Long Winter is specific to South Dakota’s winter of 1880-81, referred to as the “Snow Winter”; snow began with a three-day surprise blizzard in October and continued with unrelenting storms into May. One early resident wrotethat the snowstorms came so frequently that it was “almost one continuous blizzard”. Most families were unprepared for the early onset of winter with unharvested crops and short food supplies. By January, train service across the upper Plains was halted because of the heavy snow completely isolating the pioneers. Details in The Long Winter match the memoirs of pioneers: the grinding of wheat in coffee mills, the endless task of twisting prairie hay for fuel, the eerie gray twilight of the snowed-in houses, the agony of waiting and hoping that the trains would get through, the steady creep of starvation when they failed once again.
The Ingalls Homestead in De Smet, SD is a top draw attraction complete with covered wagon rides. This is the land where Charles Ingalls homesteaded in 1880 and where Laura met and married Alonzo Wilder.
To close here are lyrics from the Bee Gees’ South Dakota Morning, a rather peculiar perspective...
The sun shines down on a South Dakota morning
And I can see their faces in my eyesI wish they were behind me
My enemy can find me
If only to remind me that I'm really not alone
All the South Dakota mornings I have known
The eagle flies on a South Dakota morning
And I don't see my eagle anymore
Now stranger, I must kill you
You must survive, but will you
I may just beat you down, but will it even up the score
I think I saw the eagle just once more
The rain comes down on a South Dakota morning
And I can't see the sadness in my town
So let it be my pillow for underneath your willow
Wanna go back to you though your nothing but a town
On the South Dakota grass I lay me down
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