STOP "H" ON THE TRAVEL MAP (PART 2)
Tuesday 5/3/16
We got up early and left by 10:00 AM for the 240 mile drive north to Sioux Falls, SD. We stopped halfway for a picnic at a rest stop. The weather was nice and it was an enjoyable drive, as always, for me. Everything is so green and pretty. Plenty of farmland, cattle and horse ranches, wind turbines, oil drills and rolling hills.
Thursday 5/5/16
It’s a beautiful day, so off we went to explore the Sioux Falls and downtown. The falls were created about 14,000 years ago by the last ice age. There is an observation tower at the visitor center, and a path winds along the Big Sioux River with many lookouts. Also along the falls is what is left of the Queen Bee Mill. The mill was built in 1879 to process grain, but it wasn’t very successful, so was closed shortly thereafter. Many tried to use the mill, but it just didn’t produce enough to keep it going. A fire destroyed most of the complex in 1956, and all that stands now is the foundation and grain elevator. We walked downtown from the falls so we could take pictures of some of the sculptures that are placed along Phillips Avenue. We stopped at Pappy’s to rest our feet and have lunch before continuing along the Sculpturewalk. All of the sculptures are different. They are all for sale, so the city switches them out from time to time. Art is so subjective. We appreciate the talent, but there were a few that were just too weird and didn’t really speak to me or Joe.
Friday 5/6/16
It’s another beautiful day in Sioux Falls so we headed off to walk through a couple of the museums. First a stop at the Battleship South Dakota Memorial and then to the Pettigrew Home and Museum:
- Battleship South Dakota Memorial – Battleship 57 was commissioned March 20, 1942 and headed out on her first war cruise August 16, 1942, three years to the day before Japan was to surrender. In all she accounted for 64 planes, participated in nine shore bombardments and earned 13 Battle Stars for participating in every major naval battle in the Pacific. She was anchored in Tokyo Bay while final surrender negotiations were going on aboard the U.S.S. Missouri on September 2, 1945. In 1962 the Navy announced that it was going to scrap the battleship, so the citizens of South Dakota banded together to save as much of it as they could for the memorial. They were able to acquire two of the three 16” gun turrets; a 16” gun barrel weighing 94 tons and at a length of 16’; a propeller weighing 18 tons and a diameter of 17-1/2’; a conning tower hatch; 5” gun barrels and an anchor weighing 13 tons; as well as other items collected or donated for the memorial. The memorial is outlined in her length of 680’; her width was 108’. Inside you can watch a 30-minute video on the history of the battleship, see up close a miniature model, and a museum filled with items collected or donated. Every other year, service men who served on the battleship (and their families) meet at the memorial to honor those that have gone before them.
- Pettigrew Home and Museum – The 1889 Queen Anne style home built using Sioux Falls red brick and Sioux Quartzite belonged to South Dakota’s first senator, Richard F. Pettigrew. He was the second owner of the home and purchased it in 1911 for $12,000. The home features detailed original woodwork, silk damask wall coverings, and beautiful jeweled glass windows. Pettigrew came to Sioux Falls as a surveyor in 1869 and began his political career in 1872. He was elected as South Dakota’s first US Senator in 1889 when statehood was granted. He remained in the senate until 1901 working to bring rights to women, farmers and the common man. He also enjoyed traveling the world and considered himself an amateur archaeologist. In 1923 he added a museum addition onto his home so he could share his collections with the citizens of Sioux Falls. The builders incorporated some petrified wood to the outside addition which Pettigrew brought back to Sioux Falls from some of this travels. He passed away in 1926 and left his home and museum to the City of Sioux Falls. The museum houses a wide variety of cultural items and a variety of natural history items collected through archeological digs.
Saturday 5/7/16
We drove back into downtown to see the Old Courthouse Museum and take a peek inside the St. Joseph Cathedral:
- Old Courthouse Museum – The courthouse was designed by architect Wallace Dow who designed so many of the buildings and homes downtown. It’s made out of local quartzite, completed in 1893 and used until 1962. It’s now a museum with local artifacts from the early 1800s, and some interesting exhibits, such as the history of purses and coins. All throughout the courthouse are murals painted by Norwegian immigrant Ole Running which detail early life in Dakota. He was paid $500 for all his work.
- St. Joseph Cathedral – Completed in May of 1919, it is the seat of the Diocese of Sioux Falls. Next door is the Cathedral School. It’s a beautiful building.
Sunday 5/8/16
We almost forgot to drive into Minnesota while we were here. Yikes! So, after having Mother’s Day lunch at The Diner downtown, we drove 30 miles east to Minnesota. If we had forgotten all together, it would have been the one state missed while working our way back to the west coast. The closest small town was Luverne, so we decided to go to the Blue Mounds State Park and see if we could find some bison and other wildlife. There is a two-mile fence line that we followed and sure enough, we found some herds of bison. They were far ways away from the fence, and we weren’t too sure that they weren’t cows, but the pictures we took show that indeed we were seeing bison. Yay! We saw some deer, turkey vultures, other birds, and the grossest caterpillars I’ve ever seen. The white moths lay their eggs on the underside of leaves in webbed clusters. Since it’s so gross, I took pictures to share with you. Hee Hee. While driving on the freeway we saw an exit sign for the Pipestone National Monument. We didn’t know what it was, but decided to exit and find it. It was another 30 miles north from Luverne, but we didn’t care. Once we arrived, we discovered that it’s a quarry used by Native Americans in order to get the sacred red pipestone rock that they use for making pipes (hence the name). It’s the only location that the Indians have quarried from early times and continues today; however, only Indians are allowed to quarry there. It’s sacred ground and different Indian tribes come from all over the country to get the rock. There is a visitor center with history, artifacts, pipes, a movie, etc., but we arrived 15 minutes before closing time so weren’t able to see much. We collected a walking map and headed out to see the quarry. The trail is well documented, and it was an easy walk. The quarry sits in a “tall grass prairie” which once extended from Indiana to Kansas, and from Canada to Texas. Now only 2% remains today. Here is the information on some of the marked areas:
- The Oracle – A face of the guardian spirit that overlooks the quarries and imparts wisdom to all who show their respect by leaving offerings and prayers.
- Winnewissa Falls – According to an American Indian story: “The Great Spirit called the warring nations together in the valley of the pipestone. There he pulled a piece of pipestone from the earth, formed a pipe and told them that it was the flesh and blood of their ancestors. He smoked the pipe over them and admonished them to lay down their arms. Here is a place where different tribes can quarry side by side together in harmony. While he was speaking, a water fall poured from the rock nearby.”
- Leaping Rock – To prove valor, young warriors leaped from the rock and placed an arrow in the crack on their way down. Some Indian women would not accept the attentions of young warriors until they shown bravery by jumping.
- Nicollet Marker – The initials on the rock were carved by Joseph Nicollet (a French scientist) and his expedition in July of 1838.
- Old Stone Face – The face formation has been created entirely through the forces of natural erosion.
- Smooth Sumac – When the leaves turned bright red, the Indians would dry them and mix with other plant materials to smoke in their pipes. The Sumac is pushing into the prairie, competing with the other native plants.
- The Three Maidens – Six huge granite boulders were left by a glacier traveling south when the ice melted. It’s a sacred place and many of the Indians that come to the quarry leave offerings there. One legend states “When the moon was young, three daughters of a chief wanted to stay near the quarries while their tribe moved to different grounds. They spoke with the Great Spirit who said they could stay, that they would become part of the landscape (the rocks) and caretakers of the quarries.” There were petroglyphs on the rocks, but they were removed in 1889 to protect them. They are displayed in the visitor center.
