Sioux Falls South Dakota

Our road trip from the eastern edges of Wisconsin westward to Yellowstone brought a lot of sleepless hours as we found we didn't want to miss a thing not having visited this part of the country before.d

Going westward through Wisconsin brought some hillier, rockier landscapes that were refreshing from the normal low rolling hills of Wisconsin farmlands.  The Mississippi River Valley was breathtaking and refreshing.

Onward through the southern edges of Minnesota brought miles and miles of highway bordered by what seemed like endless, flat, fields of agriculture...on both sides.  I can't say that much else really stood out on that southerly route.  Our goal was to make it the Black Hills of South Dakota before we bedded down for the evening.  It was a long thirteen hour plan, this we knew. Not being in a rush, we made a couple major stops to break up the day.

The first was the above, Sioux Falls South Dakota.  We heard there was a nice waterfall in town.  Yes, right dab in the middle of the city.  An awesome waterfall park dappled with old architecture that used to be an electric producing factory. Sioux Falls itself, definitely shows its age and I can't say much else caught our eye except the awesomeness of the falls.  Did I say it was right dab in the middle of the city?

The falls are surrounded by park area where one can walk around throughout the grounds.  It was an awesomely wonderful day and many were there picnicking on the grounds or just stretched out on blankets enjoying the view and the sound of the water.

The cafe at the top was a cute cafe where the manager was very concerned about the clientele.  They were out of some of their 'famous burgers' the day we were there and had to wait a bit for our meal to find out they had given it to someone else. When the manager saw us standing around he confronted us and solved the problem right away.  Most places would have just said 'your meal will be out shortly' and then walked away.  You can sit on the patio which has an awesome view of the entire park.

Parking is free.  Cute little seven lined squirrels scampering around...for us nature lovers.  There was even a wedding party there have pictures taken which was awesome. There is a light show at night which I understand isn't the best except in the winter months when it is done up for the holidays.

Another highlight of mine...being that nature lover that I am and a really big fan of the Robin was this little lady who seemed to be perfectly okay congregating with the human life on 'her patio'. I've never seen a Robin be so close to human ramblings.

I highly recommend Sioux Falls South Dakota as a rest stop for a road trip from east to west or vice versa.

Yellowstone or Bust

I turned 55 this year.  To me, it is a scary year.  Scarier than 30. Scarier than 40.  Scarier than 16. Scarier than....

I hope I make it to 75.  I'll be happy if I make it to 75.

I woke up one morning early this year and thought...okay...it is time to make that bucket list and to start to tackle it.  I can't keep this on hold any longer (and yet...I feel my life in many ways is on hold and hopefully my home will sell soon so I can put it back in forward again).

I'm a member of a couple different camera clubs and one in particular has a lot of mention of Yellowstone National Park.  It wasn't difficult to figure out that it was probably the most interesting and easiest to get to at this point with my current location being in the midwest.  Only a two full thirteen hour days drive away.  I love road trips.  I was going.  With or without someone by my side.  I am glad I was not alone...but I would have done it alone.

What an awesome trip.  We headed out of Wisconsin through the northwest corner travelling the southern edges of Minnesota and on into Sioux Falls SD, and on into the east of Wyoming, travelling through the Badlands, the Bighorn National Forest and into the northeastern entrance of Yellowstone.  From a landscape perspective, I believe Bighorn National Forest and Badlands was right up there and, at points, even more impressive than Yellowstone.

Yellowstone was filled with it's share of wildlife and yet we had a nice share of wildlife also in Bighorn National Forest (more abundant with moose) and the Badlands (prairie dogs and Pronghorn).

Yellowstone is abundant with Bison and Elk, and Mule deer.  We had to hike to find the mountain goats and it took us three days to see the bear.  We saw coyotes and black wolves.  The bison, elk, mule deer and goats all had young ones.  This was the first week in June.  We were probably a little late for some of them but there were enough to really get the excitement of the wildlife.

I highly recommend booking in advance and if going at this prime spring time of the year, book at Mammoth Springs. The wildlife is most abundant along this Lamar Valley of the park.  We also stayed at Canyon Lodge in the cabins at the end of our stay which is where we saw the wolves and coyotes, large elk along the road and grizzly bears.

We meandered from there on down to the Grand Tetons for a day trip and definitely will venture back there again some other time for a longer stay.  They are definitely a site to see.  There I felt the landscape was much prettier than Yellowstone.  Yellowstone had it's spots but there are so many areas covered with downed trees that it took away from the view sometimes.  Don't get me wrong, it had some awesome spots and definitely a variety of ecological environments.  The sulphur springs were amazing. The waterfalls were breathtaking.  To me, the prettiest view I had in Yellowstone was the one above.

After the first few days there with highs in the mid 70s, we woke to move to the Canyon Lodge Cabins on Wednesday morning in below freezing temperatures and light snowfall that dusted the earth in just enough snow to make you realize how powerful Mother Nature is.

Breathtaking.  Refreshing. Inspiring.

On our way back, we went west out of the park in search of a wildlife preserve hopefully harboring moose in Idaho, back up through Montana and North Dakota and northern region of Minnesota.  All of this we crammed into a week.

Please...take more than a week and appreciate what the earth has to offer.

More to follow.

Have I said.... I love to travel.  I love nature and the wilderness.  The beach. The city. Unique and unusual places and things.  I want to see the world.

I've lived in seven states, been through more than I can count on my fingers and toes.  I've been abroad to Europe and even lived for a year and half in Okinawa.

Follow me....back in time to the places I have visited that I am able to share with you.

Follow me...in to the future...as I discover more of the world as it is today, tomorrow and for as long as I can travel.

Please be patient.  All I need to do now...to move forward...is find that perfect tall, dark, handsome, rich person that will support my rambling habits!!!

Ah heck, who really needs that.  All I really need is the pot of gold.  Let's start the search for the richness the world has to offer.